New South Wales Fishing Monthly November 2018 by Fishing Monthly

CICADAS ARE SINGING • SCORE FROM THE SHORE

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Cicadas for bass • Conquering the Karuah River • DIY lure making: Crabapillar • Bottom bashing Masterclass •

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November 2018, Vol. 24 No. 4

Contents 30

From the Editor’s Desk...

Website: www.fishingmonthly.com.au Managing Editor: Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au Editorial Manager: Jacqui Thomas Sub-Editors: Bob Thornton Nicole Penfold Annie March Publishers: Steve Morgan Matthew Drinkall

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James Holt captured this hefty flathead on one of the recently launched Holt Production 3” Swim Prawns. An Andrew McKinstray image.

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of Queensland’s best dams. We had newbie teams from Queensland and NSW come last year and they had a blast. ABT, who runs the event (and also operates out of the Fishing Monthly offices) has a motto – ‘Who Shares Wins’. The teams on the BARRA Tour are always keen to share a beer and some techniques after the sessions. Fishing is from the late afternoons into the evenings, so you beat the heat of the midday North Queensland sun. If you don’t make it on tour (someone has to keep the country going), make sure you tune in to all of the coverage on www.abt. org.au. The BARRA Tour is a full catch, photograph and release event, so there’s a mountain of epic barramundi pic spam headed your way if you visit the site or go and like the Australian Bass Tournaments Facebook page.

of the year. The more people you introduce to fishing, the more that will raise their voice when some preservationist with a promotion wants to stop us doing what we do. After all, anglers are the true conservationists. We all want there to be more fish in the sea next time we go fishing. BARRA TOUR It’s happening soon and there’s still time to come and join the fun! The 2018 Zerek BARRA Tour is happening again this month – a week of full-on barra fishing in some

kilo and flathead over a couple of kilograms, the smiles really started. “It’d take us so long to learn what we picked up today by trial and error,” said one of the carers. And a lot of us take that for granted. People who don’t fish often don’t have the skills to take a kid for a fish and to introduce them to the recreation that we all love so much. That’s a real positive of Gone Fishing Day. But I think that we should take that attitude into the rest

GONE FISHING DAY Gone Fishing Day #3 is in the books (#gfd18). Over 100 organised events took place all over Australia – from Darwin to Tasmania and from Botany Bay to Western Australia, Aussies enjoyed our birthright – to recreationally fish for fun and food. One of the highlights of the day is the number of new anglers that we get to introduce to fishing. Some of our staff were at the NSWDPI event on Botany Bay. On the day, 10 boats took out 10 kids (and their guardians) who wouldn’t otherwise get the opportunity to be in a boat and catch a fish. The reactions for these people was amazing. For most of them, the experience of being able to ride in a serious fishing boat was eye-opening enough, but when the kids started dragging in bream over a

NOVEMBER 2018

AUST

BOATING AND KAYAK 87 REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 32 Black Magic Masterclass 54 Cooking 72 Dam Levels 56 Fun Page 80 Tides 86 Trade Directory 82 Tournament News 74 What’s New Boating 90 SPECIAL FEATURES Bass anglers be buzzin’ 8 Karuah River from the shore 44 DIY lure making: Crabapillar 70

PRO

BYRON COAST The Tweed 24 Ballina 26 Yamba 28 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 30 Nambucca 33 South West Rocks 34 MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 36 Forster 37 Harrington-Taree 39 HUNTER COAST Port Stephens 40 Swansea 41 Hunter Coast 42 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 12 Sydney Rock and Beach 14 Sydney North 16 Pittwater 18 Sydney Harbour 19 Sydney South 20 Botany Bay 22 Western Sydney 23 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 46 Nowra 47 BATEMANS COAST Narooma 48 Merimbula 49 Batemans Bay 50 EDEN COAST Bermagui 52 Mallacoota 53 Tathra 53 FRESHWATER Robinvale 56 Mildura 56 Yarrawonga 57 Albury-Wodonga 57 Canberra 58 Wagga Wagga 60 Snowy Mountains 61 Hunter Valley 62 Lithgow-Oberon 63 Batlow 64 Orange 64 New England 65

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Bass anglers be buzzin’ BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

You’re slowly nosing up a freshwater creek on a hot, muggy afternoon, and you’re dripping with sweat from an arduous paddle. The trees that line the bank are gradually closing over to form a canopy over the deep, dark pools as you make your way further upstream.

your offering tied on, your first cast to a likely corner sees the water erupt as if someone’s thrown a brick in the water. It’s going to be a good evening. It’s scenarios like these that make this time of year so exciting for a bass angler, and anyone who regularly chases our bronze battlers will fantasize about sessions like these when they should be doing something else. For those yet to experience

in your search for cicadaeating bass! In Australia we have around 200 cicada species, and they range in colour from black/brown, all the way brighter colours like green, yellow and sometimes even orange! Most cicadas breed in the warmer months of the year, and the males can often be heard vibrating a drumlike plate on the side of their abdomens to call in a mate on warm afternoons. The bestknown of Australian cicadas is the green grocer, which, as the name suggests, is a leafy green colour. The green grocer is credited to be one of the loudest insects in the world, with some recorded calls reaching 150 decibels, and let me tell you, in a small overgrown creek it can create quite an eerie atmosphere – but it’s worth braving! When there’s trees and other cicada-harbouring vegetation lining the bank of any bass water, the bass will patiently wait for one of these clumsy morsels to fall into the water. When the males are ringing and drumming, it

The Duo Realis Shinmushi perfectly imitates the cicadas that can be heard ringing in the vegetation around our rivers, creeks and dams. means there’s females flying around trying to find their male counterparts, and quite often it’s these unfortunate souls that end up in the water. The buzzing of their wings on the water’s surface only helps to call bass in, before they meet their watery doom. Such is the cruelty of the food chain. LOCATION Bass are targetable on cicada imitations virtually throughout their range, and in a variety of different

environments, from ponds where they are stocked, to rivers and creeks, and even in some of Australia’s largest impoundments. The trick is to find a body of water that has bankside vegetation harbouring cicadas. The classic environment for this caper is a creek or river, but cicadaeating bass can be found in still waters as well, there just needs to be cicadas nearby! As far as accessing these locations goes, there’s

Larger rivers with plenty of trees and grass along the bank are great places to toss cicadas. It’s clear no anglers have been in this stretch of creek for a while. The ringing of cicadas builds to a deafening crescendo overhead, and you reach into your cluttered tackle collection at your feet for a lure to imitate one of these winged invertebrates. With

a topwater cicada bite, let me take you through the whole process. THE PREY I won’t bore you with entomology, mainly because it’s not my area of expertise! However, a basic understanding of cicadas and their habits will help you

Small creeks are an arena where an angler can use cicada lures all day, with nice, shaded pools like this one often holding many opportunistic little bass. If your casting arm isn’t twitching, you may want to get yourself checked…

plenty of options. In areas where the water is too small to conveniently manoeuvre a kayak, walking or wading may be your only option. Don’t be knocked back by this idea. Not owning a boat or kayak does limit what waterways you can fish, but it certainly doesn’t put a cap on the fun you can have! My best bass fishing memories have come from the some of the smallest creeks – insignificant trickles that you could almost step over. Any slightly deeper, darker pools with adequate shade form the vegetation above is worth throwing a cicada in, even if the retrieve is only a few metres long! In rivers and creeks where it is a little impractical to operate a trailer boat, but too wide in some areas to cast to the other bank from the shore, a kayak or canoe may be the best bet. In most dams, trailer boats are allowed, however some only allow for paddle-only access, and some even have a no vessel policy, but allow for shore-based angling. Whatever water you choose, make sure you pick a method of fishing that allows you access to all the likely areas, such as log pile,

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Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas are fantastic for small creek work. The fish in these smaller waterways are often small, but who can complain when they’re smashing cicadas in tiny, clear pools?

overhanging shrubs and banks, and any shade cast by cicada-holding structure! TIMING The general rule for bassing with topwater presentations is that it’s viable during any month with an ‘r’ in it. This is a very loose rule, however it’s a good starting point when picking apart any creek, river, or dam that holds bass. It’s during the very warmest parts of the year that bass start to refine their search to the insects that become particularly active at this time

of year, and featuring heavily among them is the cicada. Their ringing can often be heard on hot afternoons as the sun starts to dip closer to the horizon, and any time the calls of male cicadas can be heard, it’s definitely worth tying on a topwater presentation. Generally speaking, chasing a cicada bite, as with most topwater fishing, should be planned around the lowlight periods of the day, and sometimes after dark. There are specific scenarios where cicadas can be used to

great effect during the day, however. Very occasionally, these mating rituals between cicadas can happen during the day. If drumming is audible at any time during the day, it pays to have a cicada tied on, even if you aren’t fishing it as your primary weapon. However, if you can see bass actively surfacing and chasing cicadas, it’s a no brainer. Small creeks are an arena where cicada bites can go right through the day. Small creeks are often narrow enough to have shade over them all day

After noticing the amount of small black cicadas scattering from the grass as he crashed through the bush, Andrew Thornton decided that a black Teeny Torpedo was the closest thing he had to match them.

from the canopy of trees above. With so much vegetation over the shade-cooled water, these creek-dwelling fish often feel comfortable to hunt cicadas all day, almost completely free of predation. Again, listening for sounds of cicadas will be your best clue as to what you should tie on! CHOOSING YOUR PRESENTATION There’s so many cicada imitations out there to choose from, it can be daunting to know where to start! Cicadaimitating lures range between around $7 and go beyond $30, and they all work! Let me take you through some basic types. Paddlers and walkers These are by far the most common type of cicada imitation. They often have their tow point at the rear, and their two arms that create the walking action usually fold away to make for easy storage, and also to look like wings. Some paddlers even have rattles in them to sound like the real thing! Some brands have created soft-bodied cicada paddlers. The beauty of these designs is that they land softly, like a cicada, and their softness means that if a fish misses the lure in an attempt to strike, they’ll often come back for a second look without suspecting anything artificial. Wakebaits A wakebait is a crankbait

With a hot cicada bite happening in this large pool, the author couldn’t help himself and threw a fly into the action. The bass were quick to respond. with a small, verticallyangled bib, which makes the lures wobble like a normal crankbait, but on the surface. Many smaller models have been designed with cicadalike patterns on them, making these lures another great tool when chasing that cicada bite! Flies Anyone who knows me knows that I always find a way to fit flyfishing into my articles, so this one will be no different. Surface flies can be an excellent way to imitate a cicada, as they land very softly, and the material flies are made of often resembles the exact texture of the real thing. If you’re a fluff chucker,

definitely bring the long wand next time your after the cicada eaters! Others Many other lure types have been designed with cicada patterns on them. Fizzers, poppers and hollowbodied soft plastics lures are all potential choices, just think about what they local cicadas look like, and match the lures to them! FISHING CICADAS Obviously, if you’re using a lure designed to imitate a cicada, you’ll want to impart an action that resembles a cicada! Imparting a good action on the surface can be aided by To page 10

NOVEMBER 2018

From page 9

the use of monofilament leaders, as this material floats. Fluorocarbon, while a worthy tool for the job, sinks and can affect the desired action of certain lures. Testing your lures before fishing with them is the best way to work out whether to go fluoro or mono. Plenty of anglers will cast their cicada out and simply straight retrieve, fizz, or pop it back to where they’re positioned.

While this works fine, if you really want to provoke a feeding response from a frisky summertime bass, you got to think a bit like a cicada! When a cicada falls in, there’ll often lie stationary for a few moments so as not to arouse any nearby predators. Seconds later, there’ll buzz their wings gently on the surface. At this point, some will manage to fly away, while others will resort to a desperate Saratoga are just another predator that won’t knock back a juicy cicada when it falls into their domain.

Using a bright yellow lure might seem like an odd choice, but yellow cicadas do exist in certain places! Naturally, bass in these areas are quick to pounce on anything resembling these curious insects.

attempt to propel themselves to the shore nearby. To imitate this with a lure, you should let the lure or fly sit stationary where it lands. If you accidentally cast into a tree, even better! In this case you should try to jiggle it off so it lands naturally in the water. I believe sometimes the leaves you shake off when doing this alerts the bass to the potential snack hanging above! After allowing your offering to sit for a few seconds, a great trick is to gently shake the rod tip to imitate the wing flapping; this also works with a fly rod. After a few seconds of this action, then I usually commence the prescribed action, whether it be a straight retrieve in the case of paddlers and wakebaits, fizzes and pops in the case of fizzes and poppers, or gentle sliding

strips for flies. Intermittent pauses are just another trick the angler can employ during the retrieve. Bass love to hit a stationary lure, particularly if the bite is tough!

Strikes can happen at anytime during this process, so it pays to be on the ball. Bass have an uncanny habit of striking when your mind is elsewhere, and can leave even the most seasoned anglers dead-eyed, wet and shaking. GOING GLOBAL Many smart anglers have come to realise that cicada imitations are effective not just on bass, but a variety of lighttackle sportfish, in fresh and saltwater! Travelling north, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of casting cicada lures into crystal clear rainforest streams in search of jungle perch and sooty grunter. Closer to home, I’ve lobbed cicadas under mangrove overhangs for weary bream on hot summer afternoons. Further south, I’ve scaled up the tackle slightly to

It’s a simple fact: bass just love eating cicadas in the warmer months!

tempt Murray cod from their lairs, as while they have a preference for bigger tucker, they won’t often knock back a helpless, buzzing cicada as an easy feed. Even in Tasmania, some switched on anglers are tossing soft-shelled cicada imitations into the snow-fed streams of the highlands to trick the local trout, with some great success! In all these scenarios, the same principals apply. The only thing to adjust is the tackle, the layers of clothing you wear and the amount mozzie spray you apply! FEEL THE BUZZ If you’ve ever wanted to know why bass anglers get so weird when they hear cicadas ringing in the trees outside on a hot afternoon, get your hands on some cicada imitations and head down to your local bass creek, river, pond or dam. The anticipation of that explosive topwater strike is rewarding enough in itself, let alone the satisfaction of landing, unhooking, photographing and finally releasing the East Coast’s premier sportfish. Now is the perfect time to be preparing for the summer ahead. Hopefully by the end of this bass season, your hands will be covered in bass spikes, your legs spotted with thistle rash, and your camera full of memories – all thanks to one loud little invertebrate!

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Bigger bounty will be coming out to play THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

Kingfish should start to bite more readily this month as they filter into

the estuaries with the rising water temperatures along the east coast. They will be feeding predominately on small anchovies at the start of the season, but can also be fooled by live squid and at times a small yakka on

the flat line or down rigged around the headlands, plus the wrecks and moorings into Pittwater. Look for sea gulls and terns diving or sitting in a large flock on the surface or along a nearby bank.

a good chance of a 50lb+ fish. When it comes to big mulloway, no bait is too big! Being organised and on time to set yourself up for the tide changes is paramount to success, as is having adequate tackle and line capacity. Try areas like Juno Point, the north side of Lion Island, Flint and Steel, Gunya, Middle Ground and the road and rail bridges.

areas where the fish are feeding hard on the run-out tides. Trolling along the mangroves with deep divers that can reach 4-5m or drifting with some fresh Hawkesbury prawns is another active way to find patches of quality flathead away from the busy areas like the Windsock and Dads Corner. Bream are welldistributed through the

beneficial as long as it’s not just getting swept away by the main flow. Casting deep divers, soft plastic grubs and creature baits or the very realistic Cranka Crabs tight into the snags and major rocks that create the back eddies is a great way to get into a few stud bream. Mud crabs will start to get active this month, with good catches likely

When the kingfish feed on the surface it’s common to encounter multiple hook-ups as they tear apart the bait ball.

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If they aren’t diving they are likely waiting for the predators to push the bait back to the surface again, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long for some action. Casting small flies, 5-7g metals, soft plastics, minnows or small stickbait surface lures into the leading edge is the best method to get a hook up on light spinning tackle of 6-10lb. The light tackle allows you to cast a mile and it is also a lot of fun playing out some impressive fighting fish in clean open water. Bonito, tailor and salmon will be common by-catch with the kingfish, and at times a stray trevally or mulloway will take your lure, especially if

A 44cm bass for the author and a 46cm bream for James during a hot lure session at Lower Portland in early spring. Flathead have been biting well high in the system from Windsor to Wisemans Ferry, with some nice fish still biting well on soft plastics along the

upper tidal reaches due to the dry weather over the last 12 months. Prawns and small black crabs are a favourite when they move well upstream. It pays then

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This 125cm lure-slamming mulloway capped off a long night of relentless casting by the author. allowed to sink through the surface feeding fish. It’s big bait time if you want to tangle with that mulloway of your dreams. Filling your live bait tank with squid, tailor, yakkas or pike will put you in with

rock walls around Broken Bay too. Prawn imitations have been working well this season, along with 3” soft plastic minnows rigged on 1/6oz jigheads. Dropoffs, sand bars and creeks mouths are the stand-out

to fish with minimal weight around rubbly rock walls with plenty of boulders that create back eddies. These will be the areas that hold the bream when the tide is running fast. A small amount of berley can be

well above Wisemans Ferry if it stays dry. Bait your traps with fresh fish frames from a previous outing and make sure you have enough rope to compensate for the tide variances or you’ll risk having your trap float off. Blue swimmer crabs have been in good numbers and sizes over the last month, and they too will push upstream as far as Spencer and into Berowra if we don’t get rain. The flats in Berowra and Cowan will hold good bream and the odd whiting for those casting surface poppers and stickbaits ahead of their drift. Flathead should be holding on the edge of the flats where it drops off into deeper water, and here a soft plastic or vibe will account for a few nice table fish and the odd bigger specimen. If you’re looking to get out for a hassle free day on the Hawkesbury River this summer, I have started a new hire boat business out of my home town of Spencer. You will be able to take in the stunning scenery and fish from comfortable easy to operate 14ft boats with four stroke Yamaha outboards. Check them out hawkesburyhire boats.com.au.

The mystery of the moons SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

November for me is the time when the fishing steps up another gear. Compared to October, most anglers this month are more likely to fish for the summer species. Off the beaches, a run of whiting, some mulloway, and increasing numbers of bream and tailor are becoming more the norm. Dart, mullet, small tarwhine and whiting are a food source for the predators that venture onto the beach in search of something to eat. The presence of prey is always a good sign that mulloway may be around. Anglers often ask me about moon periods. A full or a new moon period, which one is the best? For me, these periods are mainly showing that the tides are at the correct time of the day. I catch mulloway on a full or a new moon period. Often the full moon nights

can produce better than the new, but sometimes the new moon will produce better. My opinion is that it’s more important to consider the swell size and tide period. A flat sea off the beach is pretty much a featureless beach, especially during the high tide. So if the seas are really flat, the moon periods do not assist you. The preferred swell size is around the 1-1.2m size range. Obviously it can vary from beach to beach, but that’s a general benchmark. With the wave height around this size, the beach holes can be more clearly defined and so can the sand bars, indicated by the wave action. Food for predatory species like mulloway, tailor, salmon and the sharks are more likely to be hunted down in these areas. Find the smaller fish and you will probably find the predators as well. Whiting and bream numbers have been quite good on virtually all beaches of late. Mid Palm Beach, Bilgola, Newport, Collaroy and Dee

If you ever see a blue ringed octopus, do not handle them. They are deadly! You’ll sometimes spot them while you’re foraging for crabs, usually during the warmer months.

Why have been offering up a variety of numbers and sizes of fish, with whiting ranging from just legal up to 42cm. The best baits are live beach worms, tube worms and pink nippers, if you have the opportunity to pump them. There are bream to 38cm around as well, and they’re taking a variety of baits including fillets of pilchards, fresh tailor and mullet fillet. A good tip is to remember to re-bait your hook with fresh bait after a couple of casts, because the current and wave motion wash away a lot of those enticing oils and flavours over time. Many people are familiar with using whole ganged pilchards for salmon and tailor, but have you tried ganged whitebait? It works very well. Bream love whitebait, as do flathead, tailor and salmon. When you purchase your whitebait, try to avoid any under 10cm long. Not only are they quite small to bait up, they’re softer as well. When it comes to hooks, use 2 x size 2-4. If you go any larger than no. 2 you will find there is too much metal showing. If you’re after flathead, use a 12-20lb leader, preferably a fairly hard fluorocarbon for abrasion resistance. When tailor are around, 20lb plastic-coated wire will be necessary, and a 10cm length is all you need. For the mulloway, catching live bait off the beach can be a great option. Dart, mullet and tarwhine are often available live baits. A 20cm tarwhine is not a massive live bait by any standards for a sizeable predator. A 27-28cm whiting is not overly big as well. Both have to be that size or larger to be legally used for live bait, while tailor have to be over 30cm. As we are fast

approaching the summer period, we are seeing a greater variety of species. On the ocean rocks there are kings, bream, snapper, luderick and a showing of bonito. The typical winter species like groper and rock blackfish are also still available. A very poisonous aquatic critter, the blue ring octopus, is encountered from time to time in the warmer months. Its blue/purple rings brighten substantially when the octopus feels threatened. Generally they are found in the quieter saltwater ponds, and you should steer clear of them. We’re seeing a run of quality kings in the 80-90cm range, with larger fish mixed in as well. Salted and unsalted sea gars ganged and spun are working well. I like salted gars because they are more robust, and are able to withstand a few dozen casts if necessary. The unsalted gars may be a bit more appetising, but they will generally only handle up to about eight casts before falling apart. If you want to throw plastics, the 9” So Run Joker Vert from Storm in yellow green has worked quite well. Live yellowtail and squid strips cast into the wash or fished approximately 3-5m under a float and lightly weighted is another productive approach. Snapper distance casting and fishing the white water zone in deep water can be productive for this species. Reds to 1.5kg, some trevally, nice kings to 75cm and bream can be caught while using half to three quarter pilchards, squid strips, cut crab, slimy mackerel fillet and medium king prawns. When I am fishing the rocks for snapper I use a minimum 2/0 hook, or even a 3/0 in a double strength. The Mustad 92554 is a great choice. Using this size hook

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John Halford was super happy with his 75cm king. It was caught on 7kg mono while fishing for late season trevally. It’s quite common to pick up a king while fishing the suds for other species. I generally have fewer deeper hook-ups of undersize fish, so releasing an undersize snapper is normally not a problem. A 3/0 is a little large for the general run of bream and trevally, and is quite good for a kings, bonito and salmon. A good place to try your luck is Manly’s Bluefish front ledge. Take into account that there is a vertical climb there of about 5-6m, and I recommend that you take your own rope. There’s good wash fishing at this location. You can also try distance casting at North Curl Curl front ledge for your reddies, bream and trevally. Long Reef is good for fishing the wash or distance casting, along with kings from Bluefish, North Curl Curl, and North Whale SE point. Whenever you are rock or beach fishing, take a few metals in your kit, such as 45-65g Sure Catch Snipers or Knights. They’re useful for collecting bait or just to get into the action when you see the opportunity. SUCCESSFUL RALLY The rally that was held at Hyde Park on 27 September really showed the state government that we anglers

aren’t going away in a hurry, even though they overturned the 25 proposed sites from Newcastle to Wollongong. It was a huge statement against future lock-outs! Approximately 5000-6000 protesters turned up at the park for the rally, and the Shooters, Fishers, Farmers Party were there to back us up. FB Stop The Lockout representatives were there, and we had a few speeches before the rally and then the march commenced at about 1pm to Parliament House. We rallied outside for approximately an hour. It was a huge success with the amount of people that turned up. We showed the Berrajecklin government that we lacked confidence in them, and the Opposition were watching closely as well. The next time politicians consider doing this, they will listen to the voice of the anglers, spear fishos and 4WDers, and pursue the better fisheries management avenue. • For rock and beach guided fishing or tuition in the northern Sydney region, visit www.bellissimocharters. com.au, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com.au or call Alex Bellissimo on 0408 283 616.

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The world’s biggest and most unique fishing tournament and outdoor lifestyle festival, GoFish Nagambie is coming to Victoria. Boasting the whopping and guaranteed $500,000 prize pool, Aussie anglers are champing at the bit to get their hands on an entry and have their shot at taking home the big bucks. Founded by Daryl Herbert and Rod Lockwood at GTR Events, GoFish Nagambie is an event for the whole industry and fishing community. It will provide a platform for recreational anglers to gather and relax for a weekend of fishing and fun whilst creating a unique opportunity for brands ranging from local handcrafted lure makers to industry leaders to showcase their products. The event also strives to create an ongoing legacy. “We are passionate to use GoFish as a vehicle to endorse important environmental messages by demonstrating how the improvement of fish habitat and re-stocking can create better fishing opportunities”, said Lockwood. The catch, measure and release tournament will highlight Australia’s apex predators of the rivers and lakes systems, the Murray Cod and Golden Perch. Nagambie’s pristine waterways are jam-packed with structures, snags

and habitat that anglers will love fishing from either their boats, kayaks or from the bank. Lockwood went on to say “with $500,000 prize pool up for grabs and split across open, cadet (teenage) and kids’ categories, we are showcasing that fishing is a sport that everyone can enjoy, furthermore, the prize pool is split so that anglers of all abilities can and will go home winners. We want more people fishing, more often”.

Entries On Sale 30th November There is plenty of action happening off the water too, as the banks of Nagambie Lakes play host to the Festival Hub. “Visitors will want to come down and soak up the electric atmosphere and immerse themselves in all that it has to offer. With everything from a vibrant shopping precinct, hands-on education program and kids’ activities, local gourmet produce and cooking demonstrations, this will be a great place to unwind with good food, drinks and great entertainment going on into the night,” said Lockwood. Get ready to cast off, the hottest ticket in town is ready to launch

Without further ado, it’s time to whip out your diaries and let the drum roll begin because the dates for the 2019 GoFish Nagambie tournament entries are here. It’s big news for Australian fishos and hot off the press we can confirm that the entries for the inaugural GoFish Nagambie tournament will be available to the general public starting from 9am on 30th November. GoFish Nagambie’s e-news subscribers who we like to bring into our inner sanctum will gain access to pre-sale entries. This will give our subscribers a 48-hour window (starting 28th November) and first access to secure entries into Australia’s most highly anticipated fishing tournament and festival on the fishing calendar. With the tournament capped and a further limit on boat numbers, accessing entries through the pre-sale could just be the key to securing the ‘golden ticket’. Entries and pre-sale registrations will be available via our website at www.gofishnagambie.com.au. Be sure to check out the GoFish Nagambie facebook page to stay up-to-date with the latest news and give us a ‘like’ to join the community.

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Speedsters filter into the harbour in numbers SYDNEY NORTH

Paul O’Hagan

It has been a very stressful time for our fishos, with the threat of having some of our best and favourite fishing spots being taken away – for no reason other than the ideology of a few misguided individuals with their

the most dominant fish at the moment, and they gorge themselves on the large variety of baitfish that is available all along the coast. As well as salmon there have been good reports of tailor and bonito getting into the action, along with some good-sized kingfish looking for an easy meal as they patrol around the schools.

the baitfish to be pushed up to the surface. On the days that the fish are not showing, it is a good idea to troll some smallbibbed lures or metals close to the rocks and along the headlands and hopefully a hook up or two will be on the cards When the fish are on the surface, it seems that they will take anything that

Grace Winter was very pleased with this kingfish.

You can get good mixed bags of pelagics in the warmer months. own agendas. However, if we stick together we can hopefully overcome these problems and improve what we have already got, which is a great, wellmanaged fishery. For now the season ahead is looking promising, with a bit of warm weather and some very large quantities of pelagics moving up and down the coast and filtering into the harbour. Salmon seem to be

Inside the harbour the fish are either completely covering the surface of the water, as can be seen by the vast array of sea birds that are gathering, but some other days there is not a sign on the surface, but that doesn’t mean that they are not there. Keep an eye on the birds. They might be just sitting on the water enjoying the view, but they are usually just waiting for

moves at the moment from lures to plastics on or below the surface. There is still a good number of squid being taken in and around the moorings at The Spit bridge and it is a great time to pick up a feed or some top live bait. For the anglers fishing from our ledges and rock platforms, there is still a good supply of luderick and drummer being taken on weed and peeled prawns, while others are using metals and stickbaits to hook up a few pelagics and a kingfish or two. Beach fishing is

improving, with whiting, bream and flathead coming from a few of our beaches in the early morning for those fishing with fresh or frozen worms. In the evening there is tailor, salmon and a vast amount of rays and sharks in the evening. Some of our inshore reefs have been fishing very well, with some excellent catches of snapper along with small kings and this should improve dramatically as the water and weather temperatures rise. Drifting off Narrabeen has been very successful for some anglers, who have been picking themselves up a nice feed of flathead using pilchards and fish strips. Narrabeen Lake, although closed and at a very high level, is still offering up some nice flathead in and around the weed beds. For those fishing in the evening, there are some very nice estuary perch on the prowl being taken on small hardbodied lures and vibes. Fishing out at Browns

there is still a good feed to be found by those fishers using the deep drop methods. Additionally, for

Young Axl San Roman was over the moon with this nice snapper. some of our game anglers there have been a few reports of yellowfin tuna

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and striped marlin a lot further out to sea. As we move through the spring and the weather

Sasha holds up a quality kingfish taken aboard a charter.

and warm currents start to flow, hopefully things will get a lot better for our game fishos. They have started putting out some of the FADs further up the coast and will soon be putting them out from our shores, and hopefully we shall have a good run of our warm water game fish over the next lot of weeks. While waiting for our game fish to turn up, it is a great time to check that all your equipment is in good working order. For game rods, particular attention should be paid to the guide rollers, as they can get seized up when lying in the boats and garage for long periods, causing a lot more friction and even line breakages. As always, stay safe and enjoy the up and coming season.

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NSW DPI installs 30 fish aggregating devices (FADs) off popular fishing ports along the NSW coast from September to June. FADs attract fast growing pelagic fish such as Mahi Mahi (Dolphinfish), Wahoo and Marlin and create an alternative fishing location for recreational sport and game fishers. FADs are deployed in NSW by DPI using funds from the Recreational Fishing Trust. Visit the FADs webpage for GPS coordinates of your nearest FAD, FADs distance off the coast and the best access point.

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All about the baitfish PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

This coming month should see not only the water temperature increase, but also the fish activity. It’s a great time of year to dust off those rods and to get out and enjoy the warm weather, calm morning seas and some great fishing. Pittwater is looking spectacular this year and hopefully this translates into some great fishing as well. Recently we have been targeting kingfish and having

a ball along Pittwater and Broken Bay. There are some decent kings in Pittwater still, but we are starting to see a lot of the smaller fish becoming active as well. Over the next couple of months, we should see even more schools of kingfish move into Pittwater and hopefully you will all be able to tangle with a few. First thing in the morning there are schools of baitfish being balled up on the surface and the seagulls are making it hard to miss them. Around these schools of baitfish there are kingfish and also the odd salmon and tailor to target. Small metal lures in the

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10-15g range are working well to catch tailor and some salmon, with most of the kingies being caught using yellowtail or live squid for bait. If you are going to use squid on the downrigger around these schools, remember to check your baits quite often especially if you haven’t had a bite in a while. Tailor will strip a squid pretty quickly and unless you are watching your rod tip, you wouldn’t even know they were there. The areas to target vary from day to day, but most of the activity seems to be happening from Longnose Point through to Sinclair Point. As previously mentioned, watch for the working seagulls and seabirds to show you where the fish are. Once the surface activity and carnage has ceased we’re finding kingies at Soldiers Point, Stokes Point and amongst the moorings at Clareville. Squid are still a little bit tricky to find, but the main areas to try are Palm Beach weed beds, Great Mackerel Beach, Careel Bay, and on the ocean side of Barrenjoey Head. The squid are very small at the moment and this equates to using small 2g jigs in order to tempt them. These small squid are still very useful when downrigging, even though there seems to be more metal than squid. Remember to swipe some scent paste just above the business end of your squid jigs. I often net squid that refuse to let go of the squid jigs right where the paste has been wiped. It truly is amazing how many times this scenario is played out and is well worth trying for yourself. Catching yellowtail at the moment is pretty easy

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Jack showed great skill catching his first ever kingfish. around West Head, but please remember to note wind, tide and sea conditions. If you’re in a small vessel it is imperative that you catch your yellowtail early on before the cruisers start leaving large waves behind them. Over the years I have found yellowtail very easy to catch while drifting this area, which is a much safer option on most occasions. It really is as simple as putting out some berley in a berley pot after you have sounded out a school of yellowtail and drift. Slow the drift of your boat using your motors and you’ll fill up the live bait tank in no time. The bottom dwelling species are starting to liven up along Pittwater, and if you strike out on kingfish

and flounder being caught, especially if you are using fresh caught bait or soft plastics. This little section of our waterway starts off at around 20m deep and rises to a shallow 2m. If you are going to anchor and berley try Soldiers Point or Stokes Point, as we will often see a variety of species being caught. Both areas can see kingfish show up, jewfish being caught at the change of tide, flathead, bream, leatherjackets and the odd tailor will make a nuisance of itself as well. Stokes Point is also a great area to try using lures while you are live baiting. Those of you who use our wharfs along Pittwater can target, squid, bream and flathead at most, with Newport and Careel Bay

to head offshore there is still the odd patch of unwanted leatherjackets and silver worm bags (barracoutta), but on the closer grounds there are some nice fish. Over the sand, blue-spot flathead are starting to show in decent numbers, just remember to watch your bag limit. For the early riser the go to reefs are Avalon and Mona Vale reefs, where there is the odd snapper being caught on an unweighted pilchard floated down a berley trail. In water depths of 30-50m there are trevally and morwong still being caught. It really is at the moment a matter of covering ground, sounding up baitfish and giving it a try. So, as you can see not only has the water and weather warmed up, but

It’s all about having fun with some mates. you can always drift around targeting flathead, bream and if you are real lucky a mulloway as well. The better areas to drift around Pittwater are towards the mouth of the river between Palm and Mackerel beaches. This large drop-off sees many flathead

giving you the best chance at these species before the water activity increases. Better baits to try are oily fish strips, squid or whitebait. Prawn baits will see a lot of bites, but you will go through plenty feeding the tiddlers. For those of you wanting

the fishing activity has certainly increased since our last article. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com. au.

Pelagics starting to come online SYDNEY HARBOUR

Craig McGill craig@fishabouttours.com.au

Late spring and early summer is the prime time of the year for surface feeding pelagics, so now is probably a good time to kick your lure collection into action. Already, as I write this, salmon are swarming at the heads, kings are making an early run into the harbour and with Middle Harbour

Check that your lures are performing correctly. The style of lures that are most likely to get out of tune are the minnows. A bump on the bib last season can put them out of tune, which will usually result in them swimming off to one side, and in really bad cases they might even spin. Adjustment can be made by bending the tow eyelet a fraction in the opposite direction to which the lure is swimming. With some lures it’s near impossible to bend the eyelet

Bonito are suckers for almost any type of lure, trolled or cast. full of baitfish, it’s looking like a great season ahead. Not only is this prime time to lure up some surface fish, it’s also a good time to take a shot at bream and flatties on artificials. Before I get into what lures to use on what fish, I’ll go over a few tips to make sure that your lure kit is up to scratch. The most important part of your lure is the hooks. Inspect your hooks for rust. Rust can make your hooks weak and blunt. A rusty hook will not penetrate as smoothly as a shiny one. Replace rusty hooks and split rings. You might decide to replace your hooks with chemically sharpened ones, which will improve your hook-up rate. If you decide to go with standard hooks, then take to them with a sharpening stone and get those points razor sharp.

due to its solid construction. In this case you can make the same adjustments by bending the bib itself. Naturally, this is only practical with the metal bibbed lures and should not be attempted with the plastic bibs. Other maintenance might include cleaning dirty painted finishes, polishing tarnished metal reflective surfaces and patching up torn soft plastics with a hot wire. Organization of your lure collection in your tackle box is equally important. There’s nothing more frustrating than reaching for a suitable lure and finding that it comes out in a tangled mess with 20 others while tuna are busting out all around your boat. The time taken sorting out the mess can often exceed a feeding spree. Plastic hook guards are a great remedy for this, but remember to keep the WD40 up to them as they have a

tendency to hold moisture. Sort your lures into types and sizes and familiarize yourself with their positions in the box. Kingies are one of the tougher lure opponents found in Sydney Harbour. Tough, both in the sense that they don’t respond very well to most of what we throw at them, and also that when one is finally hooked they fight hard and dirty. Not that they are not taken on minnows, but in general, they are largely ignored. When they are schooling and feeding on the surface they will begrudgingly take metal slugs. They show quite a bit more interest in surface poppers. The best lures, by a long stretch, are the soft plastic stickbaits. The original Slug-Go and its imitators like Platinum lures are still by far the best design for pelagic work. MARINE PARK DEBACLE In my 50 years of fishing I’ve never witnessed such a massive outpouring of genuine outrage from anglers. The trigger was the state governments proposal to lock fishos out of 25 sites between Newcastle and Wollongong. Within a week the Facebook page ‘Stop the Lockout’ had grown to nearly 70,000 irate members. The proposed lockouts were based on very ‘weak’ science, mainly extrapolation, from other dissimilar areas. They failed to consider safety and overcrowding issues and no consideration had been given to transfer of effort. There was no acknowledgement of the social and economic benefits of recreational fishing. There were no proposed baseline studies so critical to future assessment. The anti-angling sentiment in the proposal overshadowed the real threats to the point that they were inadequately addressed or even completely ignored. This has been to the detriment of the marine estate and its biodiversity. Three weeks into the consultation process the Minister put an end to the

carnage by announcing that angler lock-outs were ‘off the table’ – but the damage was already done. The proposal had caused considerably social grief and has only served to drive the wedge further between angling and genuine conservation groups. It has undermined 20 years of good public relations and cooperation between DPI Fisheries and anglers and has, even further, lowered our trust in politicians and bureaucracy. The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party announced that it would be contesting all seats in regions affected by the proposals and Labor were forced to announce that angler lockouts would not be part of any plans they had for future marine parks. The proposal represents a disgraceful waste of taxpayer’s money. It is unworkable and incompetent, however it does represent a good example of what you would expect from a panel made up almost exclusively of scientists and academics – to the exclusion of all other stakeholders. As the Minister Niall Blair said, “we have

Big soft plastics allow you to work the depth where the larger flatties hang out. The best thing MEMA can do now is to scrap the whole proposal and start fresh. I think the existing panel should be restructured to represent a more balanced cross-section of community stakeholders. I believe MEMA needs to completely disassociate itself from, what is in my opinion, the

Kings are fussy lure eaters, but can’t resist a big soft plastic stickbait. Your hooks and hardware need to be in top order. got the ‘balance’ wrong.” He said this in relation to the proposal, but, in my opinion, it applies equally well to the make-up of the panel. Even Greens MP Justin Fields acknowledged that there ‘were problems with the design’ of the proposal.

entire incestuous, insidious, anti-fishing network who were the main drive behind this incompetent proposal. It is also my opinion that the ‘independent chair’ overseeing the authority will need to be replaced with someone who is more astute

at recognizing incompetence and conspiracy. The only good to have come out of this proposal is it has woken and united the huge angling community. It has exposed the true nature of our anti-fishing enemy and their networks. It has revealed the injustice and bullying that has been imposed on our regional coastal angling communities – too small to defend themselves – over the last 20 years. It has shown us how the power of social media and information technologies can be used to reveal their networks and diffuse and discredit their propaganda. Most importantly, we have put them ‘on notice’ – that they now have the eyes and ears of one million recreational anglers fixed upon them. The Fisheries bureaucrats, the politicians, MEMA and the multitude of anti-fishing groups hiding behind a thin veil of science, conservation and official sounding names like ‘the sub aquatic study club’ – are now and forever under our close scrutiny. I urge all anglers who want to protect their future fishing rights to join the Facebook group ‘Stop the Lockout’ and unite with us to put an end to this anti-fishing ideology.

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We all scream for bream SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

The Port Hacking River will be firing on a number of fronts throughout the month of November. You will have flathead on the chew in the channels and at the ends of the dropoffs, whiting working the flats looking for worms and nippers, and bream cruising the edges and weed beds chasing a feed. Surface fish like bonito, tailor, salmon and frigate mackerel will be getting stuck into the bait schools, while kingfish and mulloway will also be checking out the bait schools looking for a larger meal.

dart, mulloway, salmon, silver trevally, tailor and tarwhine. Whole pilchards and garfish on ganged hooks would be the go. Bloodworms, nippers and half pilchards would be good for bream, trevally, dart and tarwhine when beach fishing. Have a go at getting your own beach worms or buying them at Macs Bait Bar Blakehurst. If you find that the tailor and salmon are feeding too far out for your baits, try using 40-70g metal slicers for those hard fish. Direct your casts towards the edges of the deep gutters. You could also try casting up onto the sand banks and letting the flow of the water bring you baits back down over the edge of the drop-offs.

Bream, flathead, salmon, silver trevally, squid, tailor and whiting frequent here and just love a feed of half pilchards, prawns, nippers and tubeworms. If you are going to fish here during the higher tides you will need to be prepared to get wet, as the depth can get waist deep. If you start fishing at the top of the tide at the water’s edge and as the tide recedes you will work your way out to the drop-off into deeper water. I carry all my gear in a shoulder bag and use one rod. This is a great place to use surface lures for bream flathead and whiting. Try fishing from a quarter of the tide down to the bottom and then back up.

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for feeding schools of salmon. They are great fun on light gear. leatherjackets, and if you ventured right up to the start of the 4-knot area you could try working the shoreline with soft plastics and hardbodied lures for bream and trevally. Further upstream along the diversion wall you could try for luderick on the outside and bream, flathead and whiting on the inside. Just remember to allow time to get out as the tide goes down. The beaches from Cronulla to Boat Harbour

will be worth a shot for bream and whiting. Beach worms will get the best results. If you are after tailor and salmon you need to use either half or whole pilchards. If you don’t mind a bit of a walk in, north Marley has tailor, salmon, bream, trevally and drummer on a rising tide. Half pillies and peeled prawns would be my choice of baits. Further south you could also try south Garie and

Stanwell Park beaches for bream, tailor and salmon on a falling tide. Coalcliff Point is worth a shot for tailor, salmon, trevally and bream on a falling tide. Half pillies and larger peeled prawns are the go. Don’t forget to take along a couple of squid jigs. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in! If you have anything to report or have a picture of your latest catch just email it to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

Anchor up along the edge of the channel in South West Arm for leatherjackets. You will find that squid, trevally and leatherjackets will be on the chew as well. November looks to be shaping up to be a great month out on the water, whether it be fishing from a wharf or pontoon, out of a boat, off the beach chasing whiting and bream or wetting a line targeting salmon, tailor and bonito with metals or plastics. It is all producing. With so many fish species on offer during November you will need to make a decision as to what you are going to target. If you are a land-based angler and like fishing from the beach you could try Wanda Beach for bream,

Best times to fish here will depend on the types of gutters that have formed here at the time of your visit. Early morning, late afternoon or at night seems to produce the better catches. Overcast days do fire up at times. Another land-based spot to try during a northerly breeze would be the sand flats at Darook Park. Darook Park has a northern and southern end and is one of those hidden gems in Cronulla where you can while away the hours just watching the world go by. There is a small sandy beach that is washed by the movement of the tide in the beautiful Port Hacking River.

For those of you with access to a boat I would make sure that you have a few metal slicers, diving hardbodied lures and soft plastics on-board for the salmon, tailor, bonito and kingfish. Try drifting the main channel from the entrance to the South West Arm and down to the entrance to Burraneer Bay for bream, whiting and flathead. Anchor on the northern side of the Lilly Pilly sand bar on a run-in tide and berley for bream, whiting, tailor and pan-sized snapper. South West Arm would be worth a shot along the southern shoreline for

Bic Fox has done it again, luring out a stonker bream in the Port Hacking River.

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Local anglers are bagging big in Botany Bay BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Whether you are a landbased or boat angler there will be plenty on offer for you this month. Bream and trevally will be schooling up at the end of the third runway, Trevally Alley, The Drums, Bare Island, the oil wharf, the end of the Cooks River breakwall and at Dolls Point.

fishing off both ends of the Captain Cook and Tom Ugly bridges. Further upstream in the Woronora River whiting, flathead, bream and mullet will heat up on the flats, feeding on a rising tide. You could also try casting your baits or lures in close to the edge of the mangroves. If you are looking for somewhere to take the kids you could try Prince Edward Park in the Woronora River on a rising tide. Half pillies,

a couple of metal slicers for the tailor that pop-up every now and then, and you could always put in a squid jig. To help the land-based angler out I have included a couple of land-based spots that you could try when the seas are up and are too dangerous to fish off the ocean rocks. Malabar Beach is situated in the corner of Long Bay and is one of Randwick City’s lesser-

urchins, anemones, pipis, cockles, mussels, oysters, and nippers. The area extends from the mean high water mark to 10m seaward from the mean low water

this small bay, you will find that the tailor and salmon sometimes move in. Try using a larger bobby cork and suspend a whole pilchard or garfish

and is best fished in any wind other than a southerly. Early morning and late afternoons seem to produce the better catches. There is a small breakwall situated

There are a number of land-based spots in the Woronora River that will have you fishing into deep water for bream, whiting and flathead.

Luderick are a great option while fishing in Long Bay when the sea is up. Whiting and flathead will also be out looking for a feed from the entrance to the Cooks River and upstream to the Captain Cook Bridge. The mullet run should have started by now, so I would try float

pink nippers, mullet strips and chicken breast would be worth a try. For those of you on the south side of Botany Bay you could try for whiting with worms off the groynes along Silver Beach. Take

known beaches. There is a rock pool located on the southern foreshore below Randwick Golf Club. On the northern side of the bay is a boat ramp and the home base for the

mark. Fishing is permitted in these areas, but bait collection is not allowed, although you may bring bait with you up to the quantity allowed by NSW Fisheries. Bream, drummer, garfish, luderick, mullet, silver trevally, squid and to the snaggy bottom, it would be best if you fish with either a small bobby cork or a stem float, as this will keep your bait off the

underneath. You could also try using a lightly weighted pilchard or garfish on a set of ganged hooks. Some productive baits have been pink nippers, peeled prawns, pudding baits, pillie tails or strips of mullet and tuna, whole pilchards and garfish for the tailor and salmon. It is always handy to have some 40-80g metal slicers, as you can get more distance when

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The next time you are on the northern side of Botany Bay you should check out Frenchmans Bay Beach and groyne. Randwick District Offshore Rescue Boat. Long Bay is an IPA, and the collecting of seashore animals is strictly prohibited in these closures. This includes crabs, snails, cunjevoi, octopus, sea

bottom. You could also try using a small 000 or 00 ball sinker directly down onto the bait, making sure that you stay in contact with the bait at all times. When the seas are up and the swell comes into

the fish are out wide. Due to the bay being shallow, I would concentrate your fishing to about two hours either side of the top of the tide. Frenchmans Bay is a small beach that faces south

a few hundred metres along the beach that is a good spot to cast out from into deeper water. Bream, dusky flathead, sand whiting, silver trevally, flounder, Australian salmon, tailor and squid can be caught here. It’s a great place to take the kids for a fish with their small rods, as they won’t have to cast out far. Because the bottom is sand they won’t get any snags, unless they hook onto a bit of passing weed or kelp. Don’t forget to take along those plastics and blades that you have, as the flathead that feed in close here won’t be able to resist them. I would also take along a couple of rod holders to put in the sand, so that you can leave a bait unattended while you are chucking out a couple of lures. Best baits by far for the bream, flathead, flounder and whiting would be bloodworms and pink nippers. You could also use pillie tails, strips of mullet and tuna – chicken breast also goes well here. It is a great place to work the shoreline with soft plastics and blades, as there are very little snags. Cast out as far as possible and slowly work them back to the shoreline. Small 20-40g metals work well here for the tailor. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in! If you have anything to report or have a picture of your latest catch just email it to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

Local fishing at its best! WESTERN SYDNEY

Cameron McDonald

Summer is closing in, and it’s T-shirt and shorts weather! The fishing locally is close to its best at the moment, and from Windermere to Windsor, Glenbawn to the Nepean, lots of freshwater spots are starting to fire. With the Hawkesbury/ Nepean being the local waterway to us here at the Bass Angler, this means only one thing: pre-work and post-work fishing sessions thanks to daylight savings. These sessions are some of the best to be had, and mid-week usually has less traffic on the water, so there are days where you can have entire areas to yourself (an event to be treasured). The bass at this time of year respond to numerous techniques, and it is a great time to play around and test out techniques you may not be as comfortable with. Easily the most popular and exciting way to target these mid-season fish is with cicada imitations or crankbaits, but for those times when the fish are a bit deeper, blades are often a great alternative. These small metal wonders look very innocuous, but they are highly effective, relatively cheap and very easy to use.

rock points for yellowbelly, bass, redfin and trout. In the salt, blades can be used all over the place, from lighter 5g versions on sand flats for bream, whiting and flathead, to bigger 10g (and

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heavier) models for snapper, big flathead and mulloway. There are many good blades out there, and while they all operate off the same theory (thin slivers of metal vibrating as they’re lifted through the water column) some blades are better than others. Some of the better models to check out are

Ecogear ZX40, ProLure V35, TT Switchblades and Flash Union’s Full Metal Sonic. There are three main ways that blades are fished, slow rolling, hopping, and lifting, and all will work. Mix it up if the hits aren’t coming on one technique. Don’t be afraid to occasionally stop the lure dead and let it sit on the bottom. How this

schooled off points and weed in 20-30ft of water and will take a liking to small blades and lipless crankbaits. What is key after all this pressure is a lengthy pause between hops. Don’t be afraid to leave that lure on the bottom for 10 seconds if need be, as hungry yellowbelly go around looking for yabbies hanging out on the bottom. Some great fish have been caught in recent times, with mid-50s footballs now being a regular capture. The trout fishing has been rewarding for those anglers willing to put the effort in. The rivers are low and crystal clear, so when fishing these areas you need to be as quiet and subtle as possible, as these fish are extremely wary, particularly in the small mountain streams such as the Cox or Thredbo. Moving in an upstream direction helps significantly, and will conceal some of your movements from the trout. Small dry flies on light tippets have been the most effective way to target these finicky fish, followed by small, lightly-weighted plastics. For local bass, the old faithful spots should be firing. From the upper Hawkesbury, Richmond and Yarramundi up to the Narrows, all will hold fish. Try to get away from the crowds a little and your catches will increase dramatically. There have been some very dark coloured fish around lately, suggesting they didn’t move down over winter due to the lack of rain. While this indicates a great season, it also means fewer little babies were created, and we could see a slow season in a couple of years.

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NOVEMBER 2018

It’s beginning to smell a lot like summer THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

The summer species are waking from their slumber and starting to wreck havoc on anglers. The jacks and whiting are really coming on the bite with the temperature rise in our estuary system. The summer pelagic are already starting to make their presence felt on close reefs offshore, and there is still the odd large snapper on close reefs off Tweed. Plastics at dusk and dawn are still finding the goods. The dam has

fully recovered from the fish cull back in July and the bass are really starting to slurp those insect lures off the top. OFFSHORE The current is in full flight now. The water temp has risen and the pelagic are starting to show up around the close reefs off of Tweed. Kingfish are starting to show up around Nine Mile and the Mud Hole and are making it difficult for anglers to keep them out of the reef. Down rigged baits and livies are fishing the best this month. Finding bait with arches sitting around it means you are in the right area. But fishing 80lb or more is the

Nick Dillion with the last knobby of the season.

ESTUARY The temps in the rivers are rising and so are the appetites of the red dogs. Jacks are really starting to claim territories, and now is the best time to troll the rock walls of the Tweed. Fingal, Chinny, Cobaki, Terronora, around

these rock walls have been productive as well. It’s been a little slow on the bait scene this month. Smaller live baits such as herring, potty mullet and biddies around the bridges of a night are still catching a few this month. But the

Clint McCarthy with a decent Tweed kingy. only way most anglers are stopping these brutes. Jigs and large stickbaits are also working well. Mahimahi, wahoo and various marlin species are starting to make their presence felt. Most are being caught out on the 24, 36, and 50 fathom lines and the FAD. Trolling skirts on current lines is proving to be the method to catching the early pelagic. Purple and black skirts are catching more this month, with the odd mackerel sitting off the backside of the close bommies. Trolling large hardbodies, wire skirts, swimbaits and floating baits has been working best, but no real numbers have shown up yet. The odd large random reefy is still hanging around the close reef. Large snapper,

golden snapper and spangled emperor are still taking plastics and drift baits this month. Look for active fish up off the bottom feeding for best results. You’ll find the odd pack of tuna sitting between the close reefs. Look for birds working and position your boat windward side of the pack; tuna almost always feed into the wind. Pegging metals and trolling small jet heads past the pack should see the line start peeling. The odd spanner crab can be found between the 24 and 36 fathoms. It is well worth a pot soaking while fishing out there. You will want your trap or pot in the shale or sand next to the reefs. There has been a lot of baitfish at point reef, yellow marker at cook and on the south side of Kingy.

The author with a river rat king from the Jack Evan rock wall. Stotts Island and Tumbulgum with 100-200mm deep-diving hardbodies. These rock walls are long and allow you to get long trolls in with two rods going, but a tackle back is a must to get those $30 lures back. Vibes and slow-rolled plastics around and along

lures are out fishing baits this month, with upper reaches of the systems getting a special mention. Structure around skinny water and little dropoffs are catching a few, too. A few anglers have been catching some big estuary cod as by-catch from fishing

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these methods and places. There are still some good flathead around the skinny water when chasing the whiting, and out in the deep water around the river mouths. But the sand banks that hold large amounts of yabbies are holding most of the whiting, which in return holds the better quantity and quality of flathead. Fishing the last two hours of the run-out is your best chance at a good flat fish session. Drains, draining sand and weed banks, main channels and thoroughfares have been the best spots to find them.

Whiting are pushing up into the skinny water. The run-in tide with suga pens, poppers, stickbaits, plastics and small blades are all fishing well, and it is so much fun when you see packs of fish fighting over your lure. A quick retrieve is crucial for the whiting to get excited and reaction bite your lure. Yabbies and worms are also catching a good feed, but the lures are producing the larger elbow slappers. A few trevally are still being caught in the Tweed. Live baits at night are fishing better than lures. You will also chance the odd

Joshuwa Harris with an armful of Tweed red dog.

mulloway sitting around the trevally and munching on the bait that goes through and hangs around the bridges. BEACH There are still a few tailor around the Headlands and rock

and mixing it up every few casts should see you double your catch rate. Running a berley bag or cubing pilchards will help you bring them in and keep them in the gutter in front of you. There are still

maggots and insects are working well once the sun is established. High atmospheric pressure and shrinking pools are making it easier to find the bass. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean they are necessarily easier to catch, it just means you can find them easier. Targeting pools below weirs, dam walls, levies and drains is the best bet for a fat bass this month. The dam has recovered from the fish cull back in July, and is fishing really well of an early morning. Cicadas and insect lures have been working best, but vibes

appetites. Bass will slurp lures harder off the top. Jacks will really start to wreck havoc in the estuaries and start hitting live baits more. Whiting will rule the flats and the flat fish will be there to eat them. Summer pelagic will thicken up over the next month with wahoo, dollies and marlin on the target list of most anglers. The mackerel should start to show their toothy faces around the close reef. Yellowfin should start to show up out wide. Look for 25Â° water and the marlin will be shadowing these barrels.

Joe Milicich with a Cobaki flat fish. walls this month, with dusk and dawn still fishing best. Metals, poppers, hardbodies, stickbaits and ganged pilchards have all been working this month. There is the chance of an odd mulloway hanging around the tailor around the rock walls. Large plastics and hardbodies have been working well this month. Gutters are still fishing well this month. Soaking baits in these gutters is producing some great bread and butter species, with bream, dart, whiting, flathead and tailor being caught in most gutters around the Tweed Coast. Look at southern beaches at night on a draining tide for best results in these gutters. Having a good bait selection

a few black fish around the southern headlands. Cabbage weed is fishing best for a feed of luderick this month. Cabbage weed can be found on most rocks at the beach and around the headlands at low tide. But thin your harvest out and only ever take a little from each rock. This way you will always have a good supply. FRESHWATER The bass are waking up this month. The insects are out and the bass are slurping them off the top. Cicadas, frogs, bugs, grubs, popper and stickbaits are all working bets around dusk and dawn. Divers, plastics, jig spins, spinnerbaits and live baits such as worms, bugs, grubs,

Kane Rowsell with a fat upper Tweed River bass. and heavy spinnerbaits are working in the deep once the sun is up. NEXT MONTH The air and water temps will keep rising and so will the summer speciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Kingies will rule the close reefs and be tormenting most bait balls that come too close. There is still the late chance of a good snapper and spango on drift baits and plastics at dawn and dusk on close reefs.

NOVEMBER 2018

Bass are booming in Ballina BALLINA

Joe Allan

The whole region is fishing well, but what we do need is some rain to stir things up a bit. It’s almost too clear in some parts of the

a go is when the cicadas are out singing and you can’t hear yourself think. The old faithful Bassman spinnerbaits are always a go-to, but worth a try this early in the season are small profile crankbaits that imitate prawns, because that’s what the fish are eating

start casting because this action can be crazy, with fish often coming on-board cast after cast while you’re

check are the FADs and the Wave Buoy. The beaches along South Ballina can produce

The author with a bass caught on a Bassman 3/8oz jig with an Atomic Skinny Grub trailer.

Nige Skyring with a beautiful bream caught from the South Wall.

Anthony Melchior with a trevally caught upriver on an Atomic Crank 38. lower reaches of the river, a little colour in the water would really kick things along nicely. The freshwater reaches of the river are well and truly hitting their straps. The Aussie bass are out in numbers and eating surface lures in the early and late parts of the day. The best lures to try are any of the cicada imitations. The best time to give these

at this time of year. I have had good success on the Atomic Crank 38 in ghost gill brown, muddy prawn and black beauty. The close in reefs have been producing a few tuna, bonito and horse mackerel of late. The best way to target these fish is by trolling big metal slugs or pint skirted lures. If you find a bait school, get your slugs and

on the school. There are still a fair few snapper around Lennox Point, Riordans Reef and Black Head Beach, the latter can be a little hit and miss though. There are a lot of smaller fish, however, these fish can still be great eating and can provide some awesome fun on light gear. As the water starts to really warm up the mahimahi will become hungry and should be around in solid numbers. Best spots to

some amazing whiting fishing this time of year. Scout the beach a few days before the bigger tides and head out at night with live worms and pipi. The pipi numbers will start to increase as the water warms up. Watch out though, if the northerly winds are blowing the blue bottles will be out in numbers and while not generally deadly, they pack a punch and getting stung can be quite uncomfortable.

Whiting in the lower reaches of the Richmond are on and firing, especially on small surface lures. The best lures to try are the Bassday Sugapen 70s in a variety of different colours depending on water clarity and sunlight. The most popular colours have been the C95 (orange), MB16 (clear with pink

to feed. A good little trick is to change the rear trebles to the assist hooks in size 10. This will help increase your hook up rate when the fish are not as committed. Flathead are well and truly on the bite in the middle reaches of the river around Pimlico Island and right through up to Woodburn. If

This bass couldn’t resist a Bassman jig.

Christian Booker with a solid snapper caught off Evans Head on an Atomic Prong.

Anthony Melchior with a nice bass caught near Lismore on a frog.

stripes) and C137 (banana prawn). Get these walking as fast as you can over the weed or sand flats, until you find a concentration of fish. Then keep going as they can be in big numbers together. Be prepared to hook a few things as by-catch like small trevally, bream and very hungry flathead. When there is water moving over these flats, the fish know it’s time

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you’re bait fishing, get some white pilchards (salting keeps the flesh harder), fresh prawns and live poddy mullet. If you’re into throwing lures or trolling them behind the boat, this can be the best time of year for this type of fishing. Get as bright a lure as you can, flathead can’t seem to get enough of those fluro things. Until next month, tight lines.

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Warmth makes fish feed more aggressively YAMBA

Dave Gaden

November is a great month for fishing in this part of the world. October can sometimes be a bit hit and miss, but this month it all seems to get back in the positive again. The ocean has settled into the constant warm waters coming down from the north, making fish travel

haunts: Whiting Beach, Sleeper Island, Romiaka and the entrance to Lake Woolawayah to name a few. The hard work of pumping a good bucket of live yabbies will certainly be worth it, as there is no better way to get a bag of whiting. But for those sportfishers amongst us, throwing a few poppers around can mean the sport of kings when you find a patch. Whiting are one of the only fish I seem to catch

fishing you can do; I have been known to almost fall asleep laying back with a rod in my hand only to be woken by a big lizard trying to steal the rod from my sleepy hand. As I said earlier the crabs will be on the move.

setting the dillies along the depth change. Anywhere from the Tavern all the way to the entrance to the lake there will be crabs. Offshore this month the options are endless. The FAD will be in full swing with fish hitting it already.

Kerry and the author’s brother Alex with some snapper. and working them over the edge into the deeper water will produce a few fish as they lay ready to ambush the small fish on a run-out tide. I like to troll

this time of year, just on the edge of the banks in around 1.5-2m of water, using a small diver, my favourite is a Zerek Tango Shad 50mm. It’s about the most relaxing

Mitch from Logan was happy with this snapper.

Dave from Grafton with a Maori cod. and feed more aggressively and the mud crabs in the river that disappeared through October will get going again. In the estuary it’s time to dust off the whiting gear this month. The tasty little fish will be around in good numbers in all the usual

more of when it’s windy, they seem to be more comfortable taking a popper when the water is choppy. Flathead are going to be holding the edge of the deeper water as the weather warms up this month. Throwing a few soft plastics onto the shallows

Tiger holds up a quality snapper.

I have a few mates who are professional mud crab fishers and have been told muddies almost disappear in October, but come back in November with gusto. The blue swimmers arrived early this year and will only be growing in numbers this month. Early in the season we trap the swimmers in the deeper water but as it warms up they will be everywhere. Find somewhere where the tide has a good run and the water drops from 1-2m

It is a bit of a drive out, but well worth it with last season producing mahimahi to 12kg on some charter boats. This month will also see small shoals of wahoo around the FAD. Last year they were there with lots of 5-6 fish around the 8-10kg class. They can be very cagey fish that will take a skirted lure trolled extra fast when you first get there, but will then sit alongside the boat so close you can almost touch them, but not

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take a live bait sat in front of them. Be prepared to be frustrated. Heading north, the trag and jew at Black Rock, Italian Grounds and South Evans Reef will be an easy

live baits for these guys, as there will be heaps on the grounds you are fishing. I rarely fish livies while drifting, but once anchored there is always a couple out, even if you don’t happen to

day and no fish the next, but it’s not that far out of your way if you are heading north to just stop in and have a look. If you are heading to the southern grounds, then

some great reef. Start in around 40m deep, lining Red Cliff up under Clarence Peek when you look west and you will have 3-4km of very productive ground to cover. Good snapper on the floaters and pearl perch, Venus tuskfish and Moses perch on the bottom. Now you have all the good oil on what to do and where to go, so when you catch that fish of a lifetime how about you call into my shop at Yamba Marina and weigh theBFish ladof mbait Pinraforwn es” “YaThe Year competition they run down here. It might get you a great prize.

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get a big jew, the trag will eat every livie you have. Later this month might give you your first show of mackerel, both spotted and Spanish, at Woody Head and Shark Bay. This is usually a hit and miss first run with a red hot bite one

you really can’t go past the reef between Brooms Head and Red Cliff. It’s an easy fish as the current will be predominately running downhill and the breeze is mostly north. This gives you a drift from Red Cliff all the way past Brooms, covering

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There’s solid fishing in all sectors around Coffs COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

All roads seem to be heading towards a great summer of fishing. The long dry spell has been

relieved by some rain over the last couple of months, so our rivers are looking like they’re in much better condition. Up on the plateau and beyond there has been water flowing through the very thirsty creeks, and the trout

have responded. There are plenty of very small trout, with not so many larger ones. However, when we have found the larger specimens they have been in very good condition. We have also been fortunate to not have a

repeat of last year’s extreme spring weather. Hopefully the mild temperatures and regular rainfall will continue throughout this month, keeping the alpine creeks in top condition. At this time of year the dry fly action will increase, due to the insect life cycle ramping up with the warmth. Further down towards the coast we should see the surface action heating up for the bass. Such a big cicada season last year may mean that there are fewer

little while for the bulk of the bass to move upstream this spring, but with more consistent water most of the population should be in the upper reaches. In the coastal rivers like the Bellinger, Kalang and Nambucca rivers, you should concentrate your efforts on the highest reaches you can get to. The Nymboida River will be open to fishing again this month, after being closed for the eastern cod spawning season since August. The bass

anywhere between those points will be holding bass. Large and loud lures tend to work better on the Nymboida as there’s a bit more water noise, and there are a lot of cod that the bass are competing with. You can afford to be less subtle because the bass are more aggressive as they try to get a shot before the cod. Remember that it is not permitted to target eastern freshwater cod, even though the spawning closure has finished. You can target

It’s safe to say that Mary Patterson’s first day of snapper fishing was a success! Opening her account with a 73cm fish and then immediately improving to this 83cm PB.

After Mary’s start, Bill Patterson gave up on the snapper race and pulled in this kingy instead. around this year, but they should still be emerging in numbers during this month. Even early in the season the surface crawlers and cicada lures have been working very well on the bass, particularly those further up in the river systems, so they should be even more of a sure thing this month. It has taken a

can sometimes be a little harder to find in the massive Nymboida, Mann and Clarence systems. The bass can be spread right from the Clarence Gorge and even lower, right up to the upper Nymboida over 100km upstream. Fortunately, the bass population is massive in this system, so pretty much

bass, and if you accidentally capture a cod it must be released immediately without harm. The mangrove jack fishing kicked off well from the end of winter, and this has continued through spring. The average size river red has been on the larger end so far. Often

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the small rats will become more active as it warms up, so this end of the season is usually best to get out and catch some good jacks. Thin profile hardbodies and surface lures have been the most successful. From river reds to the ocean variety, we have seen the snapper remain a very consistent target for offshore

anglers. The mid to deep reefs have been holding solid numbers of good snapper, and they have been responding best to slow jigs and soft plastics. Some amberjack and kingfish are in the same areas, as well as the island washes. Both species have taken a liking to slow jigs and plastics, but a live bait

dropped down onto a school on the reefs, or drifted into the washes, is the most reliable way to connect with the larger fish. The beaches and lower estuaries have had plenty of mulloway on offer. In the estuaries, the best approach is to work the high tides with soft plastics and hardbodies around the pinch points,

drop-offs and bridges. Squid or worms are the most likely baits to attract a mulloway in the beach gutters, and whiting and bream are also on the cards with those offerings. All in all, there are plenty of angling options this month, whether you fish in town, way out at the shelf, or on top of the dividing range.

NEWS

Dodgy seafood kept at bay Almost 24kg of illegally purchased seafood have been seized by NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Fisheries Officers from a shop in Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast following a tip-off. NSW DPI Director of Fisheries Compliance, Patrick Tully, said the officers seized cuttlefish, octopus, eastern rock lobsters and abalone, which had allegedly had been illegally traded by unlicensed fishers. “Our investigation indicates that the owner of the premises had bought fish, or exchanged fish for meals, from fishers not authorised to sell their catch,” Mr Tully said. “Only licensed commercial fishers are

allowed to sell their catch, and it is illegal to purchase seafood from recreational fishers. “Black marketing of fish is a serious problem that can impact on legitimate suppliers and adversely affect the

sustainability of fish stocks across NSW. “Commercial fishing, on the other hand, is controlled through a strict access and fisheries management system, which is designed to ensure

A haul of fish seized from retail shop that is suspected of being involved in the black market trade. Image courtesy of NSW DPI.

the sustainability of our fish species and marine life. “In addition, commercial fishers provide the community with fresh, safe-to-eat seafood by adhering to rigorous quality control processes. “This is obviously not the case on the black market. “If the alleged offender is found guilty, even for a first offence, they could face a maximum penalty of $22,000 or six months imprisonment (or both) for the possession of the illegally purchased seafood.” Anyone with information on suspected illegal fishing activity is urged to contact their local DPI Fisheries office, call the Fisher Watch phone line on 1800 043 536 or report illegal fishing activities online at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/ compliance. - NSWDPI

The cicadas should be on the increase this month. The bass will further turn their attention to the surface as the cicada chorus grows.

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How to catch a crocodile NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

It’s big flathead time right now in many parts of the country. So, how do you set about targeting the largest flatties living in your local waterways?

exceeding 55cm is a pretty good fish. The same goes for sandies and rock flathead in Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay. Over in South Australia’s gulfs, around Kangaroo Island, or on the northwest corner of Tasmania, a ‘big’ southern blue-spotted flattie could well be a fish in excess of 70cm, and there’s always

catch a few less of the smaller, run-of-the-mill flathead that generally tend to fill anglers’ bags. You need to decide up front how important this is to you. Are you more interested

flatties (these fish are often referred to as ‘crocodiles’ or ‘crocs’ by those who love them). Big flathead of any species are capable of

Flatties can reach impressive proportions!

Starlo with a reasonable dusky. Not quite a crocodile, but getting there! Jo Starling prepares to release the sort of jumbo flathead we all want to catch. Whether you chase sand, rock, blue-spotted or tiger flathead down south, bar-tails in the west and north, or the king of them all, the mighty dusky flathead of our east coast waters, right

the chance of an 80cm+. And of course, from Wilsons Promontory to Cairns along our heavily populated eastern seaboard, duskies are known to top a metre in length on very rare occasions, although

in quantity, or quality? Bear in mind too, that in most cases you’ll be releasing these jumbo flathead after a quick photo anyway, either because local laws require you to do so, or simply as recognition of their importance as breeders. This is not a meat hunting game.

eating very large meals. In fact, an 80cm+ flattie can easily wolf down a 25-30cm mullet, whiting, bream or tailor. They are also not at all averse to dining on their smaller brethren, and stories of genuine crocs grabbing average-size flatties that have been hooked by anglers are surprisingly commonplace. I know of one 88cm flattie that grabbed a hooked 44cm dusky and held on long enough to be netted, photographed and released. That’s a potential meal half

as long as the diner themself! So, if you normally use whitebait or sprats, upgrade to whole pilchards, while if you already cast pilchard or poddy mullet baits measuring 10-15cm in length when chasing flatties, think about scaling up to significantly heftier yellowtail, slimy mackerel or herring. Similarly, if your standard flathead lures or flies are mostly in the 8-12cm length range that is so justifiably popular for this purpose, bite the bullet and double their dimensions. Seriously. You may need to beef up your tackle slightly to cast these larger baits and lures, but that’s not a bad idea anyway, as it will help you handle not only XOS flathead, but also the sort of by-catch you’re likely to encounter, which may well

include mulloway, kingfish and even barra, estuary cod and jacks further north. Think about strengthening your leaders and terminal tackle, too. Big crocodiles are extra hard on leaders and it’s heartbreaking to play a monster lizard almost to your feet, only to have it win its freedom at the last moment. Hunting crocodiles isn’t for everyone, but if you’re up for it, these fish are certainly out there. Happy hunting. Starlo’s new website portal www.fishotopia.com offers access to lots of nittygritty, how-to information like this, including a 34-page flip magazine dedicated to the pursuit of extra large flatties. Jump on, have a look around and consider signing up for the free monthly newsletter.

All XOS flatties should be carefully released to continue breeding. now is a pretty good time to be looking for the biggest specimens of the year. Exactly how large a truly ‘big’ flathead is depends very much on where you happen to be fishing. If you’re chasing bar-tails in Perth’s Swan River, anything 32

NOVEMBER 2018

anything over 80-85cm is a trophy dusky for most of us. Targeting these largerthan-average flathead generally requires a certain degree of dedication and specialisation in terms of both gear selection and technique. It may also mean that you’ll

Assuming that you’re serious about wanting to target those extra bigger flatties, the first and most important tip I can give you is to significantly upsize the dimensions of your bait, lure or fly. This is by far the most vital key to catching larger

Don’t be afraid to throw seriously large lures if you’re chasing seriously big flathead!

Estuary species are firing up in November NAMBUCCA

Riley Wilson

November – it’s not quite the start of summer but I think we will be in for a scorcher. As of the start of October we have still only had a little bit of rain, and only just enough to notice a bit of colour in the upper reaches of the river, but if no more rain comes then the water will be back to being quite clear in no time. Fishing lately has been a bit hit and miss because of the unpredictable weather, but some of the local offshore

anglers are still doing okay with the regular reef species, but again, the good days for heading out have been few and far between. The river can be a little better as you can miss the worst of the wind by heading out early and be back at the ramp before lunch. The lower reaches are clear on the run-in tide, but once the tide turns, heading above the golf club can see the water take on a greener tinge, and I have found this to be very favourable flathead water. Couple this with a shallow weed bed or a creek mouth and you are on a winner!

The edge transition where that sandy shore goes about 2-3ft deep then drops away into the green abyss is prime. I was recently drifting along some of these weed beds with some small scented plastics and it was almost a flathead a cast. It would then go quiet for 50m then a couple more would hit the deck. My suspicion is these were young males grouping up and waiting for a big female to show up so they can make more baby flathead, as it is that time of year. Flicking around in the upstream sections can yield some fish a little less common than your bream and whiting.

Recently while fishing some deep bridge pylons, my father thought he had set the hooks into a mangrove jack, as it immediately dived for some snags and bricked him. With him keeping the pressure on the fish I quickly maneuverered the boat to change the line angle and it worked. The rod buckled and the fish was free. It was only a second before it hit the surface that I called it for a cod, and I was right. A quick snap and the little fella was released to grow bigger. This time of year can see young mulloway invade the estuaries and this year is no

different, with a few being landed to my in recent weeks. I haven’t kept the hooks in one yet, but I suspect I connected with one or two recently but they shook me off! The freshwater at the moment is looking really good, but as I said earlier, some solid rain is needed to fill the holes and clean up all the weed. It wont be long before they are landlocked again. Bass are responding to all the standard stuff you would expect, but with all the shallow water, anything that runs just under or on the surface will do well. If you are up in the brackish

you may even find a few living with the bream and jacks, especially if they haven’t made it back up the system yet. Last month the surface whiting run had not yet kicked into gear, but with the water temperature increasing day by day, more and more whiting are showing up. I haven’t seen any monsters yet, but it will happen soon! • If you are fishing on the Nambucca or just want some great gear and the best advice, drop in and see Riley or Rob at the Boatshed Cafe and say hi they will be happy to help with all your fishing needs.

NEWS

Black Magic teams up with Patrick Sébile Legendary lure designer Patrick Sébile and his new business ‘A Band of Anglers’ have appointed Black Magic Tackle as their exclusive distributor in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Black Magic Tackle is New Zealand based and has been providing anglers with innovative and quality fishing tackle around the world for more than

27 years. Sébile is one of the fishing industry’s most creative innovators, and winner of many international design awards as well as being the holder of more than 300 fishing records. “This is an exciting addition to the Black Magic range of products,” said Black Magic shareholder Steve Newland. “The range fits in perfectly with our brand belief, providing another top

quality and innovative range of products.” The A Band of Anglers tagline is ‘AuthenticPassionate-Real’, and Mr Newland said that this perfectly sums up Patrick and his team. “They all combine their fishing and business knowledge with incredible passion and enthusiasm, and of course a line-up of new and innovative products

Patrick Sébile, creator of A Band of Anglers, testing the new Dartspin.

that will be a must-have in everyone’s tackle bags this summer,” Mr Newland said. The A Band of Anglers products, including Ocean Born lures and Engage soft baits, are now available in Australia and New Zealand. To find your nearest Black Magic stockist visit their website at www.blackmagictackle. com. – Black Magic Tackle

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In between seasons SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Brent Kirk kempsey@compleatangler.com.au

November is here again and it can definitely be a frustrating time to fish offshore along the Mid North Coast. It is not that there are no fish around, it is just a real in between time where the summer pelagic season has not kicked off yet and the current is starting to run hard south, making the bottom fishing a bit difficult at times. With these strong southerly currents comes

the warm blue water that we long for to promote a quality inshore game season. It sounds like North Queensland has had a fair mackerel season, so here’s hoping they head this way in numbers. Fish Rock has been fairly consistent for kingfish, with some good fish coming out of this region. As always at this time of year, this area can be on fire, with good fish one day but plagued by rats the next. Larger presentations, whether stickbaits, poppers or big soft plastics tend to draw out the bigger fish, so it always pays to go big.

ROCKS

Snapper and pearlies are still on the reefs in decent numbers, and getting to them when the current is running is the only problem, so this is better attempted on days when the current lays off a little. Good catches have been coming in from about as close as 30m. Land-based fishing is definitely the most consistent throughout November, with the river being the stand out. Flathead are in awesome numbers around the edges and dropoffs. Daiwa Double Clutches are the stand out for the shallow stuff and Samaki Vibelicious are great for the deeper areas. Whiting are starting to show up on the sand flats

A couple of local young guns with an absolute cracking Kempsey bass. of the lower reaches of the river. It is time to break out the surface lures on the

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Visitors to the area Damien, Lucas and Ashton got amongst some quality bream on live baits in Back Creek.

flats, as they begin to fire up before the Christmas crowds arrive. School mulloway are along the rock walls from the entrance of the river up to above Jerseyville in good numbers, with slack tides and light line being the best combination to get amongst these just legal fish. Mud crab numbers have been reasonable, with the majority coming from further upstream than usual due to lack of rain and high salinity levels. As a result of the saltiness of the river, saltwater species of bream, flathead and mulloway are being found as far upriver as Kempsey and beyond quite regularly. Large schools of bream have also been found along the rock walls and in the creeks with some fair fish amongst them. Tailor numbers are decreasing rapidly now, although the fish that are remaining are definitely a better class of fish. Rock anglers are getting amongst plenty of school mulloway. The average size of these fish has been around 5kg. Soft plastics and hardbodies are working

well on these school-sized fish, especially through the day, as is slab baits and big balls of beach worms fished in the gutters around dark. Bream and kingfish are another two species that have been around the washes quite consistently. The beaches are starting to produce a few good whiting and the odd flathead. Mulloway have been coming off the beaches of a night time, and there have been a few good ones amongst them. The bass season is pretty well in full swing now and there has been some absolute cracking fish being caught from all reaches of the river. Keen anglers fishing pre-dawn sessions are absolutely nailing the big fish on the surface, with bigger lures like the Tiemco jumbo cicadas and Jackall Pompadour Juniors proving an absolute must over the weed beds at this time of day. Another great method has been flicking unweighted weedless soft plastics like ZMan Turbo CrawZ under over hanging branches and just letting them slowly sink into the zone.

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November has it all! THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

It’s the start of November and the weather in the Port Macquarie region is

LAKE CATHIE This waterway has plenty of appeal from this month on with a great whiting fishery. Lure fishos will be here casting Bassday Sugapens and various other poppers over the shallow expanses of the lake.

bait for all of the species encountered. Once the prawns start running, Lake Cathie will be a real hot spot, and if you can refrain from eating every prawn that you scoop you will have

Andrew Death scored this school mulloway on the new Magbite Snatchbite shrimp.

Steve with a cracking bass to get his season started. heating up – and so is the fishing. This month has a few of our favourite target species on offer. Whiting come into the mix, crabbing and prawning become more popular, bass and bream become consistent surface lure targets, and the rising water temps in the rivers make the flatties a very popular fish for both lure and bait fishos.

Cathie (pronounced ‘cat eye’) is an excellent piece of water to wade or kayak in, and has plenty of good areas to fish. The main places are the mouth (on the eastern side of the bridge) as well as the Perch Hole further towards the back. A couple of species of note are bream and flathead, and these can be targeted with lures or bait. Pink nippers are a deadly

some great bait that will be hard to beat. HASTINGS RIVER In recent weeks the river has been fishing very well

we will have a reasonable cicada summer and then the real fun will begin. Flathead numbers remain consistent, and most sections of the river are holding a good number of these fish. On some days you may have to sort through a few smaller ones on the flats, but with a thorough approach to the area you will pull some good fish. Soft plastics are great and catch heaps, but recently the Daiwa Double Clutch suspending jerkbait has been outstanding, and is the flavour of the month for lure fishos in the shallows. Now that the bait has

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Kevin with a Maria River bream that took a liking to a ZMan motor oil GrubZ. for most species. Bream have spread out through the river, and casting surface or diving lures around the bankside structure is a fun way to tangle with these fellas. Hopefully

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Maria and Wilson rivers; you really have to put in the casts for your fish at present. The Macleay River has been a far better option,

moved back upriver, the mulloway have shown up further upstream, with Wauchope being a great place for them in recent times. Other areas producing have been around Rawdon Island and the Maria River. As always, the ever-reliable Samaki soft vibe has been a go-to lure for the school-size mulloway. Another lure worth having a look at is the 100mm Magbite Snatchbite Shrimp. It’s effective on prawn feeders, and has already accounted for mulloway and good flatties on my boat. Remember that mulloway regulations changed on the first of September, and now anglers may only have one fish in their possession. The size limit remains at 70cm centimetres. Bass have been relatively slow in the

with a few very nice fish being caught and released in recent weeks. Spinnerbaits and beetle spins worked around and through the weed beds has been productive, and I managed the first 50 of the season on a Double Clutch 70mm in the ayu colour. The method I used was simply twitching

are aware of the Fisheries rules. Last year, leading into Christmas was very productive, and if you’re looking at catching some now is the time. Everyone has their favourite trap bait, and last season I just used my flatty frames and they managed to get us a good feed for Christmas.

Wayne and Gary have been getting some nice lizards on plastics.

Whiting, worms and wonderful warm weather FORSTER

David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

Summer is just around the corner and with it comes the silly season, warm water and long hot days. Daylight saving stretches the days out and filling the hours with activities and fishing becomes easier. One way to kill some time is to head down to Seven Mile beach and go

worm pliers, for beginners, and you are set to waft the stocking in the receding waves for the ‘V’ sign created by the worm as they search for food. One word of advice, if you intend to be bent over and pulling worms out, make sure you put sun screen above your shorts and your lower back. You can get lost in time worming and it doesn’t take long to burn your butt crack! Once you have your worms there are any number

in and out of the entrance. If you want whiting on poppers, try the sand bar, opposite Forster Boat Harbour, back to the bridge on the run-in tide. Cast with the wind as far as possible onto the shallow bank and retrieve at pace, because whiting love a bit of speed. It is also a good spot to throw worm baits, and you won’t get too many small bream annoying your hardearned bait. If you prefer a red spot whiting, the hole at

Beach worming is a great way to spend a falling tide and save money on one of the best baits going. beach worming. Not only are they tremendous baits in the lake, on the beach and off the rocks, they are great fun to catch and a challenge at the same time.

of places to use them around this place. The first is in the entrance of the lake where the sand whiting gather before some move out to the beaches. A running no.

There are still some good pigs around on some of the ledges. Finding a flat section of beach where the water runs over a wide area and recedes slowly is the first step. Worming is best on a falling tide when the intertidal zone is exposed and accessible. A nylon stocking with a few fish heads in it and a pair of

1 ball sinker on top of a metre of 6lb leader and a no. 4 hook is the way to start, with adjustments made for the prevailing conditions. Of course, an hour either side of high tide is the best time to fish because of the volume of water that charges

the back of Little Tern Island and the channel opposite the Tuncurry boat ramp are the places to fish. It shouldn’t be hard to identify, with the flotilla of drifting boats all trying for the same small, but tasty, whiting. Flathead are starting to stack up around the sand flats and leases in the lake entrance and the fringes of the islands. The front of Godwin Island is always a good spot to find a decent flathead, bream and the occasional cruising tailor and kingfish. Target the shallow edges with minnow or shrimp style lures, retrieving them into the deeper water edge on a 1/6-1/4oz jighead. The front of Godwin Island is an area I like for big whiting too, either with bait or poppers, although small bream are everywhere through this stretch of water. The first of the run-in tide works best. The racks and rivers are being bolstered by the numbers of bream that have returned to the system, and I reckon it is going to be a good summer this season. There is a bit of surface action to get things started and there is always bream under the racks that will respond to a drifted soft plastic or twitched hardbody past the poles. Along with the bream comes the by-catch of flathead and big tailor, as Roberta Pearce has experienced over the last few sessions. Throwing surface lures around The Paddock area, she has had her share of success and bust

offs and whenever you get big tailor hunting around the leases and channels you’re sure to experience a bit of excitement. ROCKS AND WALLS The black drummer are still the prime targets for the rock fisher who is looking for a decent feed of fish. An early morning spin for tailor can be productive, although their size and numbers are dwindling compared to the last few months. One thing that is a little concerning is the amount of sand filling the rocky shoreline. Vast areas of kelp have been smothered by the sand drift, and holes that were great producers in the past are totally filled with sand. I just hope we get a good set of stormy seas to rake it all out again. From the deeper rock platform we should start to see the bonito turning up offshore and off the rocks and a lot more bait cruising the wash. It’s looking pretty good for the Mid Coast area as far as the fishing scene goes, and the offshore should start to pick up a bit too with the warmer water trickling down the coast.

The masked angler, Roberta Pearce, with a quality lake tailor that ate a popper around The Paddock area.

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Despite some good rain falling on the Manning River catchment, the river is still fairly low. The Manning is still only just moving and is blocked with heaps of weed and slime.

ESTUARY At the present time bream and luderick are being caught from the river wall at the mouth of the estuary. Mullet strips, mullet gut and yabbies are the best baits to use. Most of the flathead are still upriver and will not come down to the mouth of the estuary until the middle of November. There

down, chopper tailor have been caught from Crowdy Beach on lures and pilchard baits. The salmon have moved on and only isolated catches of bream have been made. There are still schools of travelling bream to the south of the Manning, so they will turn up on our beaches soon. One decent mulloway was taken from

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Snapper are a great option on the inshore reefs. On the saltwater part of the Manning, fishing is starting to improve. Upriver the water is salty right to the falls, as there is very little freshwater flowing into the Manning below the falls. The flathead and bream have moved right up the river and the mulloway are feeding on the schools of mullet up there.

of kingfish can be seen patrolling the river wall, but they are hard to hook. No doubt a live bait would entice them to eat. BEACH AND ROCK The prevailing weather conditions have made beach and rock fishing difficult due to the big seas. However, when the seas have been

the rocks at Crowdy Head a couple of weeks ago, which went 20kg. OFFSHORE When conditions have allowed most boats have been able to pick up a decent feed of small to medium-sized snapper from the inshore reefs. Flathead have been available on the drift. Out wide good bags of pearl perch, bar cod and leatherjackets have been caught. There are some schools of kingfish in the deeper water. A few of the boaties like to fish wide in the deep water on the edge of the shelf and all sorts of ooglies are brought in by these anglers. November is a good month to fish the Manning area. The temperatures are quite warm and there are fish to catch in the estuary, from the rocks and offshore. Looking ahead, chopper tailor will be on the beaches and bream, luderick and flathead will be available from the river wall. The full moon in November will be great for chasing a big mulloway.

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A solid handful of red destined for the pan. NOVEMBER 2018

There’s lots on offer before the Christmas rush PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

The period between November and Christmas is certainly one of my favourite times to be fishing in Port Stephens. The weather is warm,

the fishing is sensational, and the best part is that the waterways aren’t too crowded. In the estuary, flathead are chewing their heads off, with Tilligerry Creek and Karuah fishing particularly well this time of year. I find the best times to chase them

is the last hour of the run-in tide to about midway through the run-out. Soft plastics will outfish bait every time for flathead, and the trick is to fish the shallows and cover ground, and not stay in one spot for any longer than a few casts. This is where an electric motor on your boat

is critical, as you can move slowly, fishing new territory with every cast. With the warming water temperatures, we should see bream starting to whack surface lures, which is one of the most enjoyable ways to catch them. Fish shallow rock bars on the top of the tide with small poppers and walk-the-dog style lures in 45-65mm for best results. Mulloway should spark up in the estuary this month, and can be found right through the system from the rock wall at Nelson Bay through to the deep waters around Soldiers Point up to the Karuah bridges.

or beach worms are the only way to go for these tasty suckers and everything else will eat them too. This means you usually end up with a good mixed bag of bream, dart, salmon and even the odd mulloway. Talking about mulloway, you will certainly not be wasting your time fishing the beaches for them this month, with high tides just after dark really worth focusing on using whole beach worms or live bait. Tailor and salmon are still in good numbers on the beaches and can be easily spun up with metal lures or whole pillies during dawn

some quality tailor around the 1kg mark. OFFSHORE There’s still some good reds in the shallows around the Islands and reefs in less then 20m of water. Casting soft plastics on the drift or anchoring up and fishing baits down a berley trail are the best two ways to catch reds in the shallows. There have also been some good reds on those deeper reefs such as the Gibber, 21 and Vee. Bottom bashing with paternoster style rigs like pre-made Black Magic Snapper Snatchers is the best way to catch them at these depths.

November is a great time to be out fishing for flathead with lures.

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ens estuary the beautiful Port Steph t can be ter fishing charter tha system with a calm wa hing to fis it eds from family ba designed to suit your ne glers. an g hin hardcore lure and fly fis Snapper should be thick in fairly shallow water this month. Whiting are another fish that will start to turn up inside the estuary, and while it’s probably going to be another month before they start to hit surface lures, you should still find good success fishing live tube worms along Shoal Bay, Nelson Bay and Jimmys beaches. THE BEACHES Surf beaches will start to really produce on the whiting front from now on into the summer months. Live tube

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and dusk periods. The best beaches to target them are Box, Fingal and Samurai. ROCKS It’s been surprising to see plenty of drummer around the rocks, so get into them while you still can, as they will seriously slow down in a few weeks. A few bonito have started to appear, with a few anglers spinning them up from Tommaree and Sunny Corner along with

There’s also been some good trag starting to show on the same reefs and a few school mulloway too. A local charter cleaned up on mulloway recently, bagging out and leaving them biting. Marlin season is fast approaching and as we get closer to the end of November it would be well worth a look out over the edge of the shelf for an early season stripy.

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Bream should be spread over the flats, and casting lures is a great way to bring them undone.

Fun sessions on bread and butter species SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

What a magic time of year it is. November is traditionally a month that sees nice daytime temperatures and with sea temperatures rising, the fishing action generally starts to heat up as well. The fishing has really improved over the past month or so, with great catches about for many anglers. The new season game fishing comps have kicked off and things are looking promising for the months ahead as we move into summer. The fishing in the lake itself has been hot lately. The bream are firing and other bread and butter species are also about in good numbers. Solids bags of big bream per session are not uncommon and the fish are healthy ones at that. Slow rolling shallow hardbodied lures over the shallows is a productive way to find a few, with blades and soft plastics in the shallower bays are proving productive. I generally start the day working the flats early and then move onto the shallow bays as the sun gets higher. If there is a good breeze blowing then I’ll often hang around on the flats a little longer, but if the bite slows then it’s time to move on. Be sure to have a good mix of colours in your lure trays. With both hardbodies and soft plastics, you will find different offerings work on different days, so keep a good variety on hand. With jigheads for your plastics, I suggest going as light as

with good numbers of fish in that 40-50cm size and a few up to the 65cm mark. Soft plastics around 3-4” in a fish tail profile are working

great. Bleed them straight up, keep them fresh, cook them the same day on a smoker and you will not look back.

The author’s daughter Bella with a nice flathead that took a liking to her soft plastic. On a tough trip this fish made her day. best, and I like a heavier jighead when chasing the flathead to work the bottom effectively. I generally prefer more natural colours, but every now and then I find they won’t hit anything aside from a nice bright pink or green, so always be prepared. The flathead are still around the deep waters, but the fishing has been a lot slower in these areas now that things are warming

Offshore we will now see those early season mahimahi about and generally the early ones are crackers, so here’s hoping. For anglers just looking for a feed and some good light tackle fun, grab a bunch of live yakkas before you head out and drift a few by the FADs. As a rule, these fish are smaller at around 60-80cm, but at this size on light gear they are a fantastic

promising. I’m hoping for a great inshore run of small blacks this year. For those anglers who don’t have huge boats that allow them to venture too far offshore, don’t let that put you off. So long as you have all your safety gear, a reliable motor and you log on with the marine rescue and you pick your days, then you too can enjoy some great offshore fishing. Every year there are many many, many marlin landed from our inshore grounds, with plenty of fishing coming from inside the 60-fathom line. Fishing out and around the FADs is as good a place as any to start your hunt. We managed a few off the FAD last year and will be back out again this season. I generally pull my small to medium skirted lures with a spread generally being a 9” off the short corner, an 8” off the long corner, 7 or 8” off the riggers and a 6” out deep in the shotgun position. Greens, blues and pinks are always popular options for anglers, and a good place to start. For anglers who want to venture a little further afield, then loading up the tanks with live baits and heading

up to the Carpark Grounds off Port Stephens from the end of this month onwards is always an option, as the bait will start balling up and the marlin numbers can be incredible. Slow trolling a couple of live baits such as bonito or slimy macks can be effective. We generally pull one unweighted and a second attached to a breakaway snapper lead rigged via an elastic band that will break free on hook-up. For anglers looking for some action a little closer to the shore, then you’re also in luck. The end of spring and right through summer is often a great time of year to fish off our rocky ledges. You would be nuts if you didn’t realise this can be

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you can, and a hook size of around a no. 1-1/0 is fine. Flathead numbers are also on the increase at the moment. We have been having some great trips, working our soft plastics for some good feeds. We haven’t been finding many overly large fish at the moment, but certainly making up for it

up. Again, work the shallow bays, drop-offs and edges for the summer time bite. Tailor numbers have been very good lately. We have been having a ball trolling for them throughout the lake, with some very nice fish in the mix. I have started smoking a few lately, and I must say, they taste

sportfish and lovely on the table. Be sure to throw a bag of ice in the esky at the start of the day too as they need to be looked after to get the best out of them at the end of the day. Marlin are also starting to appear, with a few early season fish now being encountered, which is

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One of many tailor around the 45cm mark that have been trolled up recently. They’re great fun and delicious in the smoker.

a very dangerous form of fishing. I’m not saying that to scare anyone, or even to suggest you shouldn’t do it, I’m just saying it is dangerous, so you must take care. In saying that, if you have the right gear, the right attitude and the right game plan, then you can have yourself a very safe and enjoyable trip, just remember to take care every minute you’re out there, even on the good days. Floating out a live bait is a great option if you’re targeting the kingfish that frequent the areas. Another good option is high speed spinning with metal lures or large poppers. Not only will you find good kingfish, but other pelgics may also get in on the action.

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Big mulloway all the way HUNTER COAST

Shannon Malone

Not only is the temperature heating up but so are the fishing reports coming in, with some excellent bags being taken across our region. There have been some excellent catches of bream from the areas around Hexham and along the stretch near the bridge to

Ash Island, Fullerton Cove and the harbour around Lee Wharves and the rock walls on either side of the harbour, with both baits and lures delivering the goods. If you’re lure fishing, I would suggest using small suspending hardbodies for the slightly deeper areas, stickbaits and poppers in the shallows and small soft plastics like 2” grubs or crab imitations. The best baits at the moment are

good quality prawns, mullet strips or gut, and cubes of pilchard on a lightlyweighted or unweighted setup and a 1/0-2/0 size hook. For prawns I prefer to use a 2/0 baitholder type hook and for strip baits or cubes a suicide type hook or even a circle hook such as the Mustad Demon circle is a great choice. Other baits that are equally productive are raw chicken breast or

A solid pair of bream displayed by Cameron Meredith after a trip up the river.

thigh fillets, skirt steak or offcuts of steak. Another tip well worth trying if you’re using chicken or steak is to cut it up the night before into suitable bait sizes, throw them in a container or plastic bag and add some garlic and parmesan cheese, and let it marinade overnight of stick it in the freezer if you’re not going the next day. The results will speak for themselves, as many species, especially bream, find it irresistible. There’s plenty of flatties around, with loads of the good eating size models around 40-50cm on offer. A lot of these fish have moved up onto the flats chowing down on prawns, poddy mullet and whatever else they can fit into their big mouths. Rolling suspending jerkbait type minnows like Daiwa Double Clutches or Zerek Tango Shads over the shallower areas in around 2-3m will usually produce numbers, but you’ll often come across a big girl basking right up in the shallows, sometimes in as little as 6”. These bigger fish will also crash small surface lures. You need to get a clean hook-up on them, but as most anglers

Garret Windeatt landed this solid 80cm mulloway recently on a soft vibe. fishing the shallows use fairly light leaders, when they inhale a small lure it rarely ends in happiness.

Locations like Hexham, Stockton, Paterson, Raymond Terrace and Fullerton Cove are all

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producing fish in good numbers and if you want to travel a little further north to Karuah around the wharf, this area will also produce decent numbers. Some good reports are coming out of Lake Macquarie as well, with the majority of fish taking plastics and soft vibes. Mulloway have been providing anglers with plenty of action in the harbour and up the rivers. There’s not a lot of huge fish being reported, but most of the serious mulloway anglers rarely reveal their secrets. Nevertheless fish in the 65-90cm range still provide plenty of line-peeling action, especially on light gear. Most of these fish are falling victim to 3-6” plastics, soft vibes and blades throughout the day and the bait anglers are doing quite well after dark using both slab and live baits. There have also been some great whiting caught on live tubeworms, nippers and prawns, with plenty of the abovementioned species as by-catch. There has been a few tailor working bait schools in the harbour. These tailor have mostly been choppers, but there’s still some better fish deeper if you can get past these little chomping machines. When in big numbers they

can be relentless at times, devouring every thing that moves and are only too happy to bite soft plastics in half and swallow vibes regardless of lure size. A few nice crabs have

been around in areas such as Fullerton Cove, Hexham and Lake Macquarie, with some decent muddies providing anglers with a top shelf feed. On the beach, whiting,

Another solid mulloway tagged and ready for release.

bream and a few tailor are stepping up to the plate, pun intended! The pick of the baits has been tubeworms and beach worms, and being able to catch your own beachworms is well worth the effort and much more fun than buying them. I have tried my hand at extracting these slippery little suckers from the sand, but either come up with a head or more often than not nothing at all. If you can, watch some of the veteran wormers getting their bag limit in no time flat. If you’re not up to the task, make sure you take somebody who is, otherwise, it is often hard to catch the target species you’re chasing when you haven’t got the right bait. Offshore is getting better every day, with reports of mahimahi, striped tuna and the odd marlin on the hunt for an easy meal. There’s also a few reports getting around that tuna have also been making a few visits. Bonito, kings and the odd snapper are also getting in on the action. Trolling a mixed bag of skirted lures often enables you to cover your bases, and lures around 100-200mm will give a good spread. Hardbodies are an alternative option if things are a little quiet.

Mulloway are always an option in November.

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Fishing the Karuah River from the shore long so there is usually plenty of space for everyone. Just remember that this area can be snaggy, so use as little weight as possible. BRIDGE PYLONS The pylons can be accessed via a walking track from the above-mentioned rest area. Although it’s snaggy on the top of the high tide, you can fish the area

PORT STEPHENS

Gary Earl

The Karuah River in the west of the Port Stephens estuary is a long, winding waterway that meanders down from the foothills of the Barrington Tops. This river is a major player in the oyster industry as well as being a major drawcard for boaties, canoes and kayakers. The Karuah River is just over 100km long, and it has a variety of areas for everyone to enjoy. There are the freshwater pools in the upper reaches, which hold platypus and longfin eels, and further down in the midstream sections there are good numbers of bass in the brackish water. In the saltwater, which extends along the last 40km or so of river, there are large creeks running off to the north and the south, holding big bream, flathead, mulloway and large numbers of prawns and mud crabs. One of the best things about this river is that you can access the bank by car,

on. Bream love this area, and when one of these fish takes off in shallow water it’s a real buzz. A long rod is best here, as you have to lift the rod high to get them back to you above the oysterencrusted rocks. BOAT RAMP This area has been revamped, and the structure here fishes well for big

Both sides of the Karuah River Bridge fish very well, with most of the activity on the township side. This huge bridge has many holes around its huge pylons, and the mulloway hole (known as the deep hole) is on the second pylon on the northern side. Big mulloway come from here and it’s a place where NSW Fisheries get some of their big breeders for their tanks. The township is an easy five-minute drive from the Pacific Highway. This is where most of the fishing takes place, especially around the bridge. All the fishing is accessible to you in the car if you’re driving

the only set of traffic lights in town, and then you take the first left down a narrow street to the waterfront. Here you’ll find free BBQs, toilets, swings and play area for the kids. There’s also a saltwater pool with a wharf

bread, you can leave this in eyesight view and head out onto the wharf. You can either try for your own bait here by using a yellowtail jig for small fish, or you can jig for squid. The rise of the tide is the best time for small fish and squid to be around. You can opt to use frozen bait if you like, but it doesn’t usually work as well as live or very fresh bait. From this wharf there have been huge mulloway over 30kg taken at times, mostly at night on the tops of tides and changes that occur around an hour to three hours after dark, and also at times of floods. Bream and flathead can be taken through the warmer months, from October through until March. You can get squid under the lights at night all year round, and using the pool to get your live baits is easy, as everything is within a hop, skip and a jump of you. This place does get busy on moon nights with a lot of people hoping for a mulloway – this is a well-known mulloway spot – but the wharf is quite

Squid love the area between the swimming pool at the rest area and the bridge. You can cook them on the spot on one of the free BBQs, or use them whole for mulloway or cut up for bream. The best time for them is on the rising tide when the water is calm, and around the lights at night. with floating baits, such as cubes of mullet, fresh crabs, slivers of squid, prawns and worms. It’s a spot where mono line is best, as braid can be sliced to pieces. A leader of around 20-30lb can be used to stop cut-offs – some of them anyway – with no sinker, just a swivel to connect the line to the trace. The swivel provides a bit of weight for the cast, and all you need to do is cast out towards the first pylon in deeper water and hang

bream. There’s also the chance of encountering the odd mulloway hunting in the area. This is a nice quiet spot to spend an afternoon or evening, and you’ll usually have the place all to yourself. Bream feed in close here, and fishing a bait on a 1/0 or 2/0 suicide pattern is a great way to connect with the finicky biters. And don’t be surprised if a flathead ends up on the end of your line. The bottom

Flood times are a great time to get amongst the bream that travel from the upper reaches of the river. and enjoy a hour, a day or a weekend of fishing without the need for a boat. The township of Karuah itself has been bypassed by the Pacific Highway, so it’s a sleepy little village these days. There’s an RSL Club, caravan park, bottle shop and service station, but bear in mind that opening hours might not be as long as you’d find in the city, depending on the time of year. It’s better to bring everything you need for your visit. 44

NOVEMBER 2018

heading north, and you can catch some quality fish. It’s true that a boat is always handy to find those deep holes, but the river has many places where you can just pull up in a car and toss in a line. Here are a few places to try. REST AREA The first and the most fished place here is in the rest area park behind the RSL Club. To get there, you take the street to the south of the club to the right at

that horseshoes around it on to the river proper. There is ample parking and it’s only a 30m to the wharf to fish. This is how many anglers, myself included, like to fish this area. It’s a good idea to turn up on the rise of the tide, because as the pool fills a lot of small whitebait and mullet feed along the sandy weedy edge in the pool itself. If you place a properly marked poddy mullet trap in the sandy areas and bait it with

The old car punt ramp has deep water straight in front of it to a deep hole. It provides great fishing with heavy gear.

is muddy and that’s flathead territory. If you flick shallow diving lures right along the edge of the river down to the front of the old oyster sheds, you can catch both flathead and bream. NORTH SIDE OF THE BRIDGE The north side of the bridge is a great fishing spot if you don’t mind a bit of a walk. Under the bridge on the western side you’ll see what looks like an old boat ramp, but it’s actually where the old punt took cars back and forth across the river before the bridge was built. As you would expect, it’s deep straight out the front of this ramp, and the river falls over sharply to a hole of about 12m towards the second bridge pylon. This

A simple poddy mullet trap saves you money on bait purchases, and provides you with the freshest bait possible. The pool at Karuah fills with mullet at the top of tides. Big bream, mulloway and flathead have all came from this area. Large baits such as pilchards, mullet

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gear to chase the seemingly endless hordes of smaller bream that sit here feeding. Fresh rock crabs are

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All the essentials you need for a night fishing on the wharf at Karuah: a radio for company, some fresh crabs, knifes, pliers and a lamp. spot is known as the local mulloway hole, and many boats sit here so watch your casting, especially at night.

slabs or whole squid can be used on heavy gear, and you can set the rods out while you use smaller

Over the years some huge mulloway have been taken around the Karauh Bridge area. Big Rob from the bottleshop got this fish after some rain. Judging by the fish’s colour, it’s been up in the river for a while in the brackish water.

everywhere under your feet, and they make great bait also. CARAVAN PARK PIER The caravan park pier is available only to visitors staying at the caravan park, and it is accessed from the same road as the first rest area. Turn right at the RSL Club, then follow this road straight ahead to the park. It has cabins, caravans and camping as well as a kiosk, pool and all amenities you would expect. Its long wharf goes out for ages into the depths of the Karuah River, and it fishes well at night for flathead as the bottom is predominately mud. Bream and tailor also turn up on the top of tides. TIME TO EXPLORE So on your next venture up the Pacific highway, try turning off to some of the small towns and have a fish in the rivers. Most of these areas are only 10 minutes out of the way, and the fishing around these sleepy little villages can be very good. The locals will give you a lot of information, as they figure you aren’t a threat to their fishing places as you’re just passing through. Some of these places fish so well that you’ll wonder why you hadn’t tried them before.

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NOVEMBER 2018

Time to hit the sand ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

Time to dust the cobwebs off the beach gear and hit the sand. The whiting are starting to move along the beaches up and down the coast and while not in massive numbers, there is more than enough for a feed if you can pin down a school in one of the many

as without them you will struggle to even get a bite. All the local beaches hold beach worms and even a few pipis, but they can be tough to catch, as when more than a few people chasing them they can get very touchy. If you are new to beach worming, stick with it, as practice makes perfect. If they are just too fast then you can at times pick them up at tackle shops, but it’s

There are plenty of flatties in the lake, like this average size fish. gutters and flats on our beautiful local beaches. As usual the best beaches to fish early in the season are close to the mouth of Lake Illawarra, with Windang, Warilla and Port Kembla the pick for better catches, but most beaches will have a few fish. First things first though, you will need to get that stinky going and grab a few beach worms for bait,

best to ring around to see who has some. Most of the fish are just over legal with the odd thumper thrown in, but they will get bigger as we move into summer. The best bit about chasing whiting with worms is the by-catch, as every fish you encounter on the beach loves beach worms except maybe tailor, so there will be salmon, bream, dart, trevally, flathead, tarwhine

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and school mulloway. A little patience and a bit of fight time may be required when one of the latter takes a liking to your bait. Most beaches have all these species at the moment, and they will become even more numerous over the coming summer months. If you can’t get hold of worms, then prawns and pilchards will score most of these species and a few casts into each gutter with plastics will find any salmon, flathead or stray mulloway that may be hanging around under the white water. The rocks are starting to warm up as well, with a few bonito showing on the deeper ledges down around Kiama way, but the main target will be the bigger kingfish that will be moving along the coast over the next few weeks. Any small bonito would best be put straight back out with a larger hook to entice any of these passing kings. You stand a better than average chance on the solid kings, as most are travelling and not locals, so they often fight much cleaner giving you some optimism you may actually land one, before a local arrives and destroys you in seconds. It’s exciting while it lasts. Live squid are the best baits. While you are waiting there are plenty of salmon hanging around grabbing lures and pilchards, so you can keep busy while waiting for the big kings. You could also throw in some bread berley and chase a few drummer, bream and trevally in the white water.

Get the beach gear out, the whiting are here! sand patches all along the coast. Good catches of fish to 60cm are coming in when the drift is right and there are plenty of other species biting as well. Mowies have also increased in numbers over the close reefs in 40m of water or less along with pigfish, a few samson, trevally, smaller snapper and heaps of leatherjackets. Barracouta are about in schools snipping off gear all along the coast and if you are using plastics and chasing bigger snapper make sure you have a good supply, as between the jackets and ‘couta it can be an expensive outing. If you do get past the critters with teeth or find a patch away from them, then there are a few nice reds to 5kg about. Put your sounder to good use and work any bait schools you find, look for the single fish on calmer days or just do what most do and go to your favoured reef and cast them out and drift.

time of year, with the banks just down the coast a bit of a stand-out at this time of year, but the local reefs hold a few too. Live baits like squid, mackerel and yakkas fished deep are the way to go and you can’t miss them schooling on the sounder. Knife jigs work a treat in the deeper water and add a bit of flash to bring the kings in on your livies as well. The Hump, Bandit, Wollongong Reef, the humps off Shellharbour and Rangoon all hold fish at this time and the shallower areas around the islands are well worth a look too. Further offshore there are schools of striped tuna about, but they seem to get less and less every year. There’s a few yellowfin tuna on the temperature breaks when they come through, but you have to be lucky, however all that can change overnight if good water comes through and even a few albacore are hanging about.

If the jackets are giving the plastics a tough time, move over to jigs. They can’t bite through metal, and the snapper love ‘em! All the headlands along the coast have these on tap at the moment, they just need the berley to coax them into biting. Offshore the bottom bouncers are starting to rub their hands together, as the flathead have decided it’s time to play and they are on the chew over all the

You could get old school and put down a berley trail, as this still works believe it or not, it will bring in the trevally and samsons, and there are a few little makos hanging about for a bit of fun as well. The kings are not just along the rocks, they are over the close reefs at this

If you can find some warm water we often get an early run of striped marlin, some big mahimahi and the odd spearfish on that first wave of warm water, then they seem to disappear until the really hot stuff arrives after Christmas. If you can find them this month, they are fun while they last.

This month will probably be your last chance to bottom bash the canyons before the current blasts down from the north and makes it that much harder to stay down and keep those baits in the right area. For something a bit less hectic, the lake is now revving up and should be running on all cylinders by the end of the month. The flathead have really hit top gear and are grabbing plastics, live poddies and cut baits all over the lake, with the usual spots like the drop off and the main channel starting to get crowded, but that doesn’t seem to bother them. Chopper tailor are hunting in packs, making a mess of any plastics in their path and even a few flounder have shown up. Bream are around the bridges during the evening and even a few school mulloway have found their way up the channel. The breakwalls to the lake are worth a shot with live mullet during the evenings as the mulloway have to swim past them to get up into the channel. Whiting are on the flats and with the prawns now moving on the dark moon, poppers are worth casting about around the shallows, weed beds and drop offs. Failing this, a few nippers or squirt worms fished over the flats will get a feed. As for the prawns, the dark moon is always worth a look with the lights and scoop nets, as we all know not much beats live prawns for bait in the estuaries. If you are in the boat, keep your eyes open at all times, as there are so many crab pot floats and ropes that you can’t navigate in a straight line and not get tangled around the prop. The crabs are about, hence the number of traps. Minnamurra is much the same with flatties all along its length, with better fish in the deeper spots and some nice whiting along the flats. Bream are always around the bridges at high tide during the evenings.

Get in before the crowds NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

It’s been a pretty tough few months for the fishers in our local area. Lack of rain, unfavourable winds and very little fish activity has all contributed to less people going fishing for this time of the year. Finally things are starting to head in the right direction though,

Of course those mega tailor are still cruising around chomping on anything that moves and the whiting on the flats are just starting to show up on the duller overcast days combined with some breeze to give them a little cover. JERVIS BAY AND BEYOND Inside the bay it’s mainly been the luderick keeping the anglers busy, with some real quality fish being caught.

New member of the Tackle World Nowra team Jai Goodwin with a solid St Georges Basin bream caught on a blade lure. with waters warming, and bait moving in our rivers and estuaries. Offshore the currents are getting fish moving in the right direction and the bigger predators are starting to feed. ST GEORGES BASIN In the basin things are starting to happen. There have been a number of quality mulloway caught and released recently, which is just great to see, considering once upon a time they were almost unheard of in there. There have been some really big flatties in the 90cm+ range caught and released, and some real quality bream are showing around the edges, especially on the wind blown banks with weed cover.

Fish of around 40-45cm and even larger are almost becoming common in certain locations and most are being caught on artificial weed flies! Yep, artificial weed is the way to go! There’s no wasting time collecting weed when you could be fishing this stuff. It works just as good, if not better! By now the locations are no secret thanks to the good old social, so it’s really the only ones who don’t have Facebook or Instagram who aren’t getting in on the secret. So where to go? The break wall at the mouth of Currambene Creek is a good option at Huskison, as is Moona Moona Creek where Husky and Vincentia join, Plantation Point is worth a

look and Murrays boat ramp breakwall is another option. Whether you fly fish or just fish them on a normal blackfish rig, you should bag a few at any of these locations. The later two locations will also produce squid if things are quiet on the luderick front, so make sure you take a handful of jigs and some scent and you should get a few. OFFSHORE Offshore there have been some reds showing here and there. The reefs off Sussex Inlet have had plenty of fish around the 3kg mark hanging on them, while up off JB and Currarong they have been a little further out in the 40-70m mark, but in saying that I have heard of a few big ones in close too, so try your spots that you know fish hang on and you may just do better than anticipated. UPSTREAM By now in the Shoalhaven River the bass will well and truly be upstream in the brackish waters waiting for some rain to advance there trip beyond the rapids and into the beautiful and picturesque freshwater pools our upper river offers. All we need now is the rain! There are a few fish that didn’t migrate down in winter in these pools, but I’m sure by December most will have been hooked, so they will be pretty shy of lures and flies. If you’re thinking of hitting these water I wouldn’t wait – the time to go is now! To all the locals, enjoy your last month of peace for a while. Christmas and the school holidays are almost upon us. To all the tourists who come to our area, bring it on! We need you to keep our economy going and let’s face it, what a place to holiday – the best in the country, the NSW South Coast!

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Bottom bouncing brigade really benefiting MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

Merimbula has received some much-needed rain over recent weeks, which has been handy, but we do require a lot more before summer sets in. The local estuaries are

as to how many flathead bite like this in coldish water. Other species that can be expected include trevally, bream, legal snapper and flounder, particularly when using smaller softies or even blades. Closer to the entrance in the main channel, on the eastern side of the bridge, there

bait and I expect the new reef to be a huge success over time. For those after a feed, the last few weeks has been tougher for flatties, the fish that have been caught were deeper in 50m and more. What is good at the moment is the amount of snapper getting caught,

A solid snapper that is above average for this neck of the woods.

With summer coming along it’s time to take the family fishing once again. crystal clear and still quite cold at present, so some run-off from the rain will certainly help and put some colour back into the water. The top lake at Merimbula has really peaked with some big flathead upwards of 83cm being caught. These bigger fish have succumbed to larger soft plastics fished in the deeper water of 6-8m, with the southern part of the lake fishing best. Look for the points that have ribbon weed on them and concentrate your efforts in these same areas. With the water still quite cool at 16°C, make sure you slow your presentation down and be prepared for a lot of the bites when you lift the lure up. You will feel weight here or the slightest resistance, if you do, just strike to set the hook. You will be pleasantly surprised

are plenty of blackfish, trevally, mullet and even some nice flatties to be had. Anglers using soft plastics have fared best, but the bait crew have also done okay on Hawkesbury prawns and striped tuna cubes. I’d expect the action to only get better as we head into summer. Offshore, the new artificial reef is now in place. It is almost due southeast off Long Point, or about 1.6km from the point. I haven’t got the marks yet, but when I do I will let you know. This will be great in the long run, especially for the bottom bouncing brigade with snapper, morwong and hopefully big kingfish making it home. The kings is what everyone is hoping for, as it will hold these fish as they move around from Long Point to Haycock and even down to Eden. It will hold plenty of

not big fish but plenty of eaters around the 1kg mark. Anglers using bait and micro jigs have fared best with Lennards Island, Haycock and White-

Cliffs north of us all producing at times. Further offshore it has been tough, the water is around 18°C with not much life in it. There has been the odd albacore and mako about, but no yellowfin and certainly too cold for marlin this early in the season. Hopefully it will change and we have better news next month. Off the stones there have been plenty of sharks

caught, with a mate of mine getting three in the middle of the day. They were all bronze whalers with the best at an estimate of 150kg, and they were all released. The boys paddled their baits out a couple hundred meters and said they lost a few. These sharks are always there you just have to fish for them to get the results. The ledge at Tura Head has seen some big salmon

A cracking 49cm bream. They don’t get much bigger than that. This one was released in great condition.

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taken on shiners with a few rat kings around the 70cm mark. I know a few anglers have seen bigger kings on the surface, but they haven’t been feeding and are very hard to entice. Maybe a few more degrees of water temp might make the difference. Only time will tell. For the eaters there are plenty of drummer about, with Short Point being the pick. Better baits are cunjevoi and cabbage weed, with a few of the blacks pushing 2kg, solid fish and great eating. On the beaches there are plenty of salmon about, though they’re not big with the average at 1kg or slightly better. They’re responding well to poppers and smaller metal shiners, with Tura Main certainly as the pick of the beaches at the minute. The northern end has some cracking gutters close to shore that are worth a look. On Merimbula Main more whiting are about with a few bream too. Anglers using worms and pipi are getting a feed, with the flooding tide in the afternoons being prime time.

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Fantastic flathead fishing leading up to summer NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

We have finally seen some rain over the last few weeks, which is great to see, but it would be beneficial for the estuaries to get another 250-300mm over a short period and give them the proper flush out that they desperately need. The upper reaches of the Tuross River has fished quite well of late, with the snags producing some solid EP, mainly on smaller prawn imitation soft plastics fished tight amongst the structure. Not every snag has fish on it, so moving about until you locate feeding fish is certainly the go. The fish are averaging 33-34cm, not huge but still a lot of fun, with the odd better model upwards of 42cm. You can expect a few black bream mixed in with them and if you can get your boat above snake flat then bass certainly become an option. November is a great month to target them and with plenty of hatches already happening they will be eager to feed. The main problem you’ll have is getting to them. It is shallow, so care must be

This flatty was released in super condition. taken and you will have to work with the tides or you will be stranded. Further downstream the river section below the highway bridge has seen some good whiting taken by anglers fishing live worms and nippers. Some of these fish are elbow slappers with fish to 43cm, which are crackers for this neck of the woods. With the weather warming up surface presentations like walk baits and poppers will come into their own and this section of river near the island

is a gun place to start early in the season. If you’re after some flatties look for the slightly deeper depressions and concentrate your efforts here with mid-range fish style soft plastics catching plenty. There are always fish to be caught along the river early in the season. Down in the main basin the deeper sections near the boatshed will see some mulloway and bigger flathead play the game. I’d be concentrating in that 6-8m range, with bigger lures fished

slow on the draining tide for best results. Wagonga Inlet this month is the start of it all with the main basin as the best area to fish. Look for the whitebait schools and fish around them accordingly, if you don’t have any luck in a few casts move to the next, there’s plenty of bait in there at present. It’s a good month for mulloway, with big flatties also on the cards. If using smaller presentations then trevally, bream and snapper are all viable options under the bait schools, and if tailor are present than all the better as well. Off the beaches salmon are still plentiful on most local beaches with Narooma Main, 1080 and Tilba as the best beaches to the south. All methods are working for the salmon, with anglers casting chrome lures having a ball on fish to 2kg. Expect some good whiting and bream to turn up this month too, with live beach worms, pipi and mussels working best. Fishing the flooding tide in the late afternoon is best. November usually sees a few gummy sharks and the odd mulloway caught too. If you’re after the bigger prey, than the southern end

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of Blackfellows Beach near Tuross is your best bet at catching one. Casting fresh strips of tailor is good, as are live bunches of beachworms, especially for mulloway. The rocks have slowed considerably due to the calmer seas at present. When the swell increases the blackfish and drummer should play the game again. Kingies are a real possibility this month, especially at the golf course rocks and Mystery Bay. Live bait, lures and whole ganged pilchards is the best way to tempt one. Expect some cracking bonito to turn up top. There has already been some solid speedsters to 3kg, they are great fun on lighter tackle and not bad on the plate if looked after. Salmon are still about, even with the calm conditions; they will get better and more consistent once the conditions are a little more to their liking. At Montague Island the kingfish have been sporadic to say the least; great one day, slow the next. When they do decide to chew, the action is fast and furious, with jigs and live baits working well. The north and western sides of the island are where most of the action is. The fish, when

they do chew, are nice ones averaging 65-70cm, a great size for the plate. There is still the odd bigger fish too, these have mainly been caught on live bait fished hard on the bottom. When they’re like this they can be hard to tempt, but persistence should pay you the rewards. Further offshore the game fishing is slow. A few crews have got the odd albacore with a few decent mako sharks about, but overall it’s pretty non-existent. This will change though, as they’re getting some decent yellowfin north of us. All we need is the current to push further south, the water temperature to pick up and we should be in business. That is the thing with these pelagic species, they can travel big distances, all we need is the right conditions with the bait there and it should happen. Closer to shore the snapper have still been good. The size of the fish has dropped but the numbers have increased. Most fish are 1kg or so with the odd better one. You can expect plenty of mowies and a few John Dory on the same grounds, with the northern reefs up at Potato Point definitely the pick of them. The 52-55m mark has seen plenty of action.

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All about that tasty deep water snapper BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Anglers love November for fishing the depths and finding snapper! Spring is a great time for snapper fishing and a lot of people target them off the stones throughout winter and move over to the boat fishing throughout spring. There are some good schools moving throughout in the 60-80m range and even deeper in the months of October through to December. November is my favourite month, as it’s when I have had most of my success. The reason the snapper fishing is so good over these months is the aggregations are spawning and they are thick and hungry over this period. There is currently talk of closed season during spawning times, which can only be a good thing for the fish stocks. The most popular way to catch snapper is the old-fashioned paternoster rig, with squid and pillies as bait. Anchoring up, berleying and floating baits down is a

bit more work, but a lot more productive. If you want to use lures, soft plastics like 5-7” jerkshad are a great choice.

This approach works great in shallower waters. By far the easiest way to fish for snapper, and it’s been mentioned a few times

Maddie Golden outfished her old man, landing this lovely snapper.

SEASON

IS HERE!

Every Saturday 4.30pm on 50

NOVEMBER 2018

in my articles, is to use micro jigs. Everybody seems to be jumping onto this craze. We have a massive range of micro jigs at Compleat Angler Batemans Bay and the collection seems to be building as the demand grows. They are just so versatile, being able to fish any depth without having to worry about bait. They seem to catch all species, but the most enjoyable thing about micro jigging is fighting the fish on the light micro jigging gear. Some big schools of 50-60cm kingies are getting around and the numbers should improve as the currents warm up. Hopefully this continues from here on and numbers of kingies are more prominent this year than in previous years. Lately they have been taken on micro jigs when snapper fishing, but to really get kingies to play the game you’ll have to impart a more erratic action to get them to strike. Out even deeper in the electric reel depths we are still seeing a good run of ling. These are ugly looking things but are great table fish. There are a few blue eye, the odd gemfish and loads of the usual ocean perch with the odd mako hitting the electric reel rig to make things exciting. The boys on Fish Wizard crossed paths with a mako when it started peeling line off their electric reel, but crewmember Micheal had purchased the Shimano Forcemaster 9000 and it operated beautifully, and the boys were very impressed at how it made short work of the mako. Then the next level of excitement was when a gaff was put into it and it came crashing onto the deck to terrorize the place and chew everything in sight, which had Rick jumping out the back and Dennis jumping onto the nearest chair! There should still be a few makos getting around to keep the shelf visits worth it while waiting for the marlin to show up, and that shouldn’t be too far away with the bait already here. Off the stones there is drummer, snapper, salmon, groper and now the chance of kingies. You just have

to pick the correct location, and sometimes this can be difficult. If you are an avid rock angler, your only excuse for poor results is the wrong location, because the fishing has been very good when numbers of fish are found. Our beaches have been going great for salmon and tailor, and it’s looking good for spinning or casting a pilly. Again, it will be all

the thousands of blackfish due to the amount of weed, and lots of estuary perch are crowding snags and oyster racks. This has given estuary flickers some entertainment, and will continue to do so until things really start to heat up. There has been some good reports of flatties and bream coming on the chew, and we should start seeing the mulloway warriors out

Rick, Dennis and skipper Micheal on Fish Wizard have been bringing some tasty fish from the deep lately. about choosing the right location, so move around until you find them. Whiting are starting to play and we are off and running, with customers snapping up the smaller Sugapens at Compleat Angler. It’s that time of the year where the estuary starts to light up. What has kept it interesting of late has been

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There are plenty of options despite dry weather BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

November for me heralds the start of yet another season, with the warm weather angling now getting into full swing, especially the estuaries and sweetwater. A lot of the rivers and lakes along our coast are closed to the ocean at present; so what does this mean for the angling and how do we go about fishing them? Firstly, not all systems are closed, there are ones you can concentrate on where fresh fish stocks will be entering from the ocean regularly. Keeping this in mind, fish migrate up and down the coast looking for those estuaries that are open to the ocean, so the ones that are open will receive a greater share of the migrating fish. The Bermagui River is one such place that will always be open and it is right on your doorstep. All the regular species are on the chew with the usual favourites like flathead, bream, whiting and luderick on offer, while around the

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fringes, as fish will come up here looking for warmth or food. This can provide some very interesting shallow water sight fishing, especially for the lure or fly enthusiast.

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Out around the rock platforms, especially near the Blue Pools, there are plenty of drummer and luderick to be found, mostly being taken on cabbage weed or cunjevoi,

some exceptionally large fish in this area. Out on the ocean, around these same rocky platforms south of Bermagui and down to the Three Brothers or even as far south as Goalen Head, have had reasonable numbers of kingfish patrolling these areas, with some of the fish being of exceptional size. Trolling lures has produced good captures, when the fish come to the surface feeding on the bait schools, casting popper style lures can provide some exciting angling. For those who like bottom fishing on the reefs things have really fired up. Tiger flathead are the predominant catch at this time of year with the grounds east and south of Bermagui proving the best. Once out at sea start in around 40m of water and, depending on conditions, venture deeper where the larger fish will lurk. If conditions are really good, try out around the Twelve Mile Reef where these flathead may regularly exceed 70cm in length. There are also plenty of sand flathead to be found

out there expect to also find some exceptionally large ocean perch, the odd good snapper, some big leatherjacket and the occasional tasty Tassie Trumpeter. Out in the deeper waters it is time to experiment with gamefish. There are quite a few school-sized yellowfin tuna already appearing, along with striped and albacore, with the occasional bluefin also showing up. With the water warming up it would not be surprising to see an early season billfish starting to show and the scene is set for a good up and coming game season. It is also a known fact that where a lot of small tuna are occurring there is the likelihood of sharks following, with makos, blues, hammerheads and whalers being close on the tail of these tuna. So a well-laid berley trail may be all it takes to fire up these sharks and provide some entertaining angling. BROGO DAM Brogo Dam is also starting to fire for bass, and even though water levels are down there is plenty to be found.

Flathead on lures is always popular at the start of a new season. with the rocks further south towards Cuttaggee also containing good numbers of these fish. All along our rocky foreshores will attract a variety of fish in the likes of salmon, tailor, bream and silver trevally. For those who wish for a little bit more excitement, try fishing some red crabs for blue groper, as there are

on the closer to shore grounds up off Tilba to the north or out from Cuttaggee or the Murrah South. The reefs are producing a lot of morwong, with the blues seemingly preferring the inshore reefs while the jackass will be found in the deeper water as far east as the Twelve Mile Reef. If you are fishing

Remember estuary perch were released last season and may now be of catchable size. The Far South Coast Bass Stocking Association is also holding its annual comp in December and it would be great to see you there. For information contact Jan on 0427 934 857.

Bega River rises from the ashes this November TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Great news has been filtering in for the Bega River following those devastating fires earlier in the year at Tathra, and that is that the river is fishing well and the ashes from the fire have not seemed to have gotten into the system! The river is closed to the ocean at present, resulting

in the water levels being quite high, and with the lack of substantial rain recently is not likely to open soon. Providing there is no flooding rain in the near future, the ash from the fires is more likely to be absorbed into the land rather than being washed into the river course. So with the water levels being high, anglers who have been concentrating their efforts around the fringes of the shore line have been encountering a variety of

Dusk and dawn are the favoured times for estuary perch.

species. Bream are definitely on the shortlist, however estuary perch, flathead, luderick and whiting have also been a regular catch and if you travel upstream, you’re definitely going to find those bass in the sweetwater where you can expect some exceptional size fish. With the warming of the weather, it is also improving the coastal and offshore fishing. The beaches are starting to come alive with many good captures of southern yellowfin bream, whiting and mullet, with those ever-present salmon only too eager to snaffle a well-presented bait or lure. Of a night anglers can expect reasonable numbers of tailor to be on the chew, along with the odd mulloway, gummy or whaler shark. The better areas seem to be north end of Tathra Beach, Gillards Beach to the north or Bournda Beach slightly south of Wallagoot Lake. Out on the wharf there is plenty of activity for all ages, with the ever-present schools of slimy mackerel, yellowtail and trevally twisting anglers’ lines to keep them entertained. The larger salmon also pass on a regular basis, providing an opportunity for a bigger catch, while there are some sand flathead on the bottom, garfish on the surface, and luderick and the occasional drummer closer to the rocks. Those drummer are also in better numbers on the east facing platforms, with some good captures being taken on both cunjevoi and cabbage weed. Six-spine leatherjacket

are also a welcome and tasty bonus to the basket, where silver trevally, bream and the odd blue groper also feature in anglers’ bags. Out at sea things are really starting to hot up for those wishing to chase the tasty tiger flathead. These fish are in good numbers all up and down the coast anywhere in 40m of water

blue and jackass, are the dominant catch. Throw in the odd ocean perch, a few leatherjacket or an occasional pigfish, and it’ll make for a pretty good day! On the sport and game scene the good news is kingfish seem to be increasing in numbers and are featuring regularly out from the rocky coastline and around the

mako sharks only too willing to take advantage of any of these stricken fish, and anyone berleying with the tuna will be more than likely to have one of these sharks visit their trail. Speaking of warming weather, it is now time to dust off the rods and lures and go bass fishing, as Brogo Dam is starting to fire. Water

Bream are a favourite in the shallows. or deeper, with the larger fish seemingly coming from the deeper depths. There are also plenty of sand flathead mixing with them along with red gurnard and the occasional gummy shark. On the reefs themselves, there is the occasional snapper to add some colour to the bag, although both your morwong species, being

shallow reefs. These fish are responding to trolled lures, where once found, jigging may also start to produce. Further out to sea the game fishing is a little quiet, with small striped, albacore and yellowfin tuna are the most predominant catch more out towards the continental shelf. Following these schools of tuna are

levels are down in the dam, however the fishing is still good. Remember to take a careful look at any small fish, as those estuary perch released last year are now reaching a catchable size. Just a reminder that the annual Bass Comp is coming up in December, and we want you there! For further information contact Jan on 0427 934 857.

Inshore fishing is firing up MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Like everywhere else, the Far South Coast and east Gippsland needs rain and the rivers need a good flush to fire up the fishing. The past month

in Mallacoota there have been a few boats venturing offshore chasing a feed of tiger flathead, the fish have been caught in around 40m with some sand flathead caught closer in around 20m. The fishing will only improve as we head into summer. The windy

Flathead are starting to wake up after a cold winter.

conditions have limited the number of days spent offshore fishing. With the water temperature around 14-17°C, offshore things really need to warm up before the fishing follows suit. The fishing on the local beaches has been slow. The salmon have moved on and we are waiting for the water to warm up and then we will see the sand whiting and yellowfin bream make an appearance. Fishing in the lake has been pretty ordinary. There has been black bream upstream and the best area has been upstream from Gypsy Point. The fish are not easy to catch, which is usual for this time of year as this is their spawning time. Plenty of tailor are in the lake, and with the lake closed they are trapped. So they are only getting bigger, and wherever the bait is they won’t be far behind. The flathead are starting to wake up, but the coming

months will see things improve as fish start to liven up with the warmer weather. The Eden area sees the water temperature a little warmer closer to shore, with the temperature out wide the same as off Mallacoota around that 17°C. The inshore reefs around South Head and down towards Green Cape have seen some good fishing for pinkie snapper. The fish haven’t been big, only around 1-2kg in size, but there are plentiful. With the water temperature at 17°C out on the shelf, it needs to get warmer before you can really expect to see the fishing improve this year. This year saw colder water temperatures along the coast than the temperatures seen over the past few years. The coming weeks should see the water temperature start to rise and it shouldn’t be long before the yellowfin tuna make an appearance. As we

Tailor are on the go. Find the bait and they won’t be far away. head towards Christmas the warmer weather will see the visitors turn up once again, and by then the fishing will have fired up. Fishing the beaches has been slow and inconsistent, with the salmon here one day and gone the next. Fishing wise this time of year is a transition period where all forms of fishing (beach, river and offshore) are about to fire up.

The estuaries around Eden have been fishing well for tailor with some good-size fish being caught. Black bream are being caught upstream with yellowfin bream coming from the entrance area along with silver trevally. The bass fishing is about to fire up, but to get the fish on the move good rain is needed as the rivers have all but stopped flowing. NOVEMBER 2018

BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

W I T H PA U L L E N N O N

Black Magic bottom bashing When it comes to putting food on the table, good old fashion bottom bouncing is still pretty hard to beat. It’s probably safe to say that drifting around with a paternoster rig has accounted for more snapper, flathead, nannygai, morwong, pearl perch and a host of other tasty species than any other method of fishing out there. While simple and extremely effective, it still

sinkers and fishing virtually underneath the boat in waters less the 15m is not too far short of a waste of time. The most effective depths for bottom bashing are from 40-200m as boat presence to bottom feeding fish is not usually an issue. Breaking it down further inside this window of ideal depths, each species will have its own ideal range and bottom territory it prefers. For instance, flathead will be found over sandy muddy

Work out which way the wind and current are going then move in the opposite direction until you’re just off the reef to give you maximum drift coverage back over it. Plot your start point on your GPS and as soon as you finish your drift go back and

sinker you should be using, which should be the lightest possible that easily finds the bottom. A sea anchor can also be a handy tool to slow your drift down, especially on days with a lot of current or wind. While bottom fishing

The Black Magic Snapper Snatcher rig can out-fish other rigs 5-1.

Snapper are going to love the new Black Magic Snapper Snacks. needs to be done in the right way and in the right areas to have success. Probably the biggest mistake anglers make with this style of fishing is trying to do it in waters that are way too shallow and more suited to anchoring up and casting lightly-weighted baits away from the boat. Fish, especially snapper, are very wary and will quickly spook in shallow water when there’s a boat drifting over the top of them. This is why drifting around with big

bottoms in 40-80m of water while fish like long-fin perch prefer the deeper reefs around 100-200m. Then you have snapper and morwong that cover the whole range up to 200m of water and other fish that cross over in between like pearl perch and nannygai. This is why bottom fishing when done right can produce a real mixed bag of species. Getting your drift right is a really important factor that will greatly increase your catch.

An armful of long-fin perch. 54

NOVEMBER 2018

Long-fin perch are the coral trout of the south. The new Black Magic snapper snacks work a treat for them. move a short distance away either side to give yourself a different line to go over new territory. If, however, you find a patch of fish on the first drift, be sure to mark it on your GPS and then try to do a re-run over it. Drift speed as well as water depth will dictate what size

gear can be either overhead or spin set up, the most important thing is braided line, as the zero stretch makes bite detection and setting of hooks instant. Braid also cuts through the water much better then mono, which is a big advantage when fishing in this manner especially in the deeper water or when you have current. I use Black Magic rainbow braid in 30 or 50lb as it’s colour coded every 10m. The best benefit of this is you can count your colours going down knowing exactly where in the water column you are and this can be particularly handy if you mark a patch of fish say in 70-100m of water. The paternoster rig is by far the best way to set up for bottom fishing and is just basically a 2m piece of mono leader with a loop on the bottom for a sinker and two short lengths of line off the sides about 60cm apart. While you can easily tie these yourself, Black Magic tackle has a range of pre-made flasher rigs that are hugely popular and lethal for this type of fishing. My first experience with these was fishing with

a paternoster rig I had tied next to a mate using a Black Magic Snapper Snatcher rig and was pulling in snapper at a rate of five to my one. Ever since that day I’ve used the premade flasher rigs and never looked back. Another reason they work so well is you can bait them up and when you do unknowingly lose your bait, or after a missed bite, the flasher rig alone will usually still get nailed, meaning you never waste your time in the water. The Black Magic range is always growing with a huge expanse of colours and sizes, now with 1/0 to 8/0 available in suicide

and circle hook patterns. Personally, I prefer the ones rigged on the KL circle hooks as the fish tend to hook themselves with a slow lift on the rod all that’s needed. I’ve also been testing a new product by Black Magic, which is going to be deadly. While they are the same concept these don’t use the flasher type material but rather thin small plastic and this gives more movement than traditional flasher rigs teasing shutdown fish into a bite. These went on the market in October, so keep your eyes peeled.

You are better off trying to target snapper in deeper waters.

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NOVEMBER 2018

It’s time to search for some golden perch MILDURA

Rob Oswin

What a month it has been! Finally the warm weather has set in and many people are getting back out and onto the water. The warm weather has brought with it some excellent fishing. Over the last month the fish have been moving in huge numbers. Reports are coming from all over with many anglers catching fish in large quantities and sizes. Loch 9 has been a massive hotspot for those using vibe style lures as well as soft plastics. There are reports of golden perch being caught everywhere and anywhere, from Ki Bend all the way down to Loch 8. This can be put down to the great weather we have been having.

Golden perch fishing is really heating up. Bait fishing has been extremely effective with golden perch as well, especially now that the summer weather is nearly upon us. Shrimp and yabbies especially are becoming more and more productive. Lures

have also been a huge hit, with vibes and soft plastics being the go-to for many people. There has been reports of small hardbody lures such as Stump Jumpers and Oar-Gees producing some excellentsized fish up to 50cm.

Over the coming month we can expect more and more great reports of fish being caught, and with cod opening just around the corner on 1 December we can expect many anglers gearing up for opening. It is expected that the cod season is going to be great, with the Darling no doubt producing some amazing fish. Although, with the excellent weather comes many more people using the river. Safety is key, especially around this time of year when there are more and more people in and around the river. Be aware of heavilypopulated areas, shallow waters and areas with a high density of timber. We all know that accidents happen, but they can be avoided. So, stay safe and have fun on and around the water.

Increased opportunities ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

Golden perch are turning up in all shapes and sizes.

DAM LEVELS Dam............................... % Full

Dam............................... % Full

Dam Aug Sept Oct Blowering 73 73 61 Brogo 82 66 60 Burrendong 34 29 24 Burrinjuck 41 42 42 Carcoar 55 55 52 Chaffey 54 52 49 Clarrie Hall 99 99 98 Copeton 25 23 21 Dartmouth 90 88 83 Eucumbene 12 20 23 Glenbawn 65 64 63 Glenlyon 48 46 44

Dam Aug Sept Oct Glennies Creek 67 67 66 Hume 47 52 49 Jindabyne 33 65 73 Keepit 11 11 11 Lostock 98 97 100 Oberon 55 54 53 Pindari 58 55 47 Split Rock 14 14 13 Tantangara 35 55 41 Toonumbar 96 91 98 Windamere 40 40 40 Wyangala 60 56 52

(All levels correct at time of going to press. Dam levels can change at any time, so please check with local authorities to ensure safe boating and fishing.) 56

NOVEMBER 2018

Bait fishing has been working on golden perch.

The warmth of spring marks an increase in angling activities as many different fish species come on the chew. While the Murray cod season is closed in our rivers, several inland impoundments are open to cod fishing providing opportunity for anglers to scratch that ever-present green fish itch. Copeton, Eildon and this season Blowering dam have no closed Murray cod season and are open to cod fishing all year round. Murray cod of more than a metre in length have been landed at all three locations

have giant golden perch that begin to feed as the water warms. Some of these goldens are of Jurassic like proportions. Then there are the large redfin and some thumping trout, all of which are a bonus should the natives prove difficult. Back home along the Murray and its adjoining rivers we are a little less spoilt for choice, but the fishing has been good none the less. The Murray River at Swan Hill has its own mixed bag with good numbers of golden perch mixed with the odd thumping carp. It’s refreshing to see a few large freshwater crays climbing on the line this past month, as they have been a rarity in our local waters for some time. If

Anglers now have year round access to Murray cod fishing in several impoundments, and this chunky Blowering cod is an example of what’s on offer. last month on lures and bait, and the bite will only get better as the water warms. Increased angling opportunities when fishing these impoundments comes in many forms, not least of all the by-catch. All three

you are lucky enough to wind one of these prickly crustaceans in remember they are fully protected in these waters and must be returned to the river. In our local waters golden perch are on the

chew at most locations. While we are in the Swan Hill area the regulator at Flood Lane, where the water runs out of Reidy Lake, has seen good numbers of large golden perch landed on bait. The Wakool River is producing perch to 46cm on worms below the road bridge at Kyalite. Wemen on the Murray River is also producing good numbers of golden perch and some very large carp. Some good-sized silver perch have also been landed at this location, so it pays to be up to speed on the difference between the two perch species. As a protected species all silver perch must be returned to the river regardless of size. Downstream along the Murray River, through Hattah Kulkyne National Park to Mildura and beyond it’s a similar story as good numbers of golden perch have started taking bait. If there has been a stand out location the Frenchmans Creek regulator would be it, with most anglers catching their bag limit of perch very quickly. In saying that, it can switch off as quickly as it switches on. Shrimp, small yabbies and worms have been the best baits with small vibes, soft plastics and hardbodied lures catching fish when the water clarity suits. All up the spring fishing action has been very good and with cod back on the bucket list at several impoundments anglers will make the most of the increased angling opportunities.

Stella yella are set to fire YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

As usual, knowing where to start this time of year is difficult as we’re dead smack in the middle of a closed cod season and waiting for the traditional run of spring yellas to fire. Mid month you can generally guarantee that the yellas will be up and about somewhere within the lake or further upstream around Bundalong and its backwaters. The Bundalong area has a maze of shallower backwaters, lagoons and creeks that provide some great yella fishing. This time of year also sees a generous amount of yellas school up in the faster running water around the mouth of the main

weir near the train bridge and the Mulwala Canal. The best bet while targeting these critters are TN60 Jackalls, hardbodied lures, smaller profiled spinnerbaits or blades. Fishing in Lake Mulwala proved to be a non-event for the beginning of last month. Reports of yellas picked up towards the end with a couple of nice specimen measuring close to 50cm being captured. Fishos should be aware that Murray cod season is closed in the lake and targeting of these fish is prohibited. Any cod that are encountered must be released immediately. Another important and timely reminder is that through to and including 30 November any fishing whatsoever below the Yarrawonga Weir in the Murray River, downstream

through Cobram to the traffic bridge at Tocumwal, is totally closed to all forms of fishing. Planning is in full swing for the iconic Yamaha Cod Classic, Australia’s largest inland freshwater fishing event. On 1-2 December Lake Mulwala will come alive with around 3000 fishos vying for the $200K+ prizes on offer. Prizes include seven boating packages and a Toyota Hilux Ute if somebody manages to catch ‘Rod the Cod’, the specially tagged Murray cod. You would be crazy to miss what is now not just a fishing competition but a fishing festival! Incredibly, 110 Yamaha/ Quintrex/ Lowrance boating packages have been given away throughout the 19-year history of the event. For all enquiries visit www.

Young Eve Sharp with a nice spring yella that measured in excess of 50cm. codclassic.com.au. • If you are visiting town, I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish, Camp & Ski (opposite the post

office) in Mulwala and say G’day. We are your largest Murray cod-specific shop in Yarrawonga/ Mulwala and specialise

in all things ‘green’! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a hoy on (03) 5744 3133.

Days are warming, and so are the fishing trips ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

The past month has seen some mixed results. Chasing golden perch has been my main priority,

sometimes aren’t quite high enough for the yellas to fire. This has been the case for the beginning of the month, however it is starting to look promising for the upcoming months. Many hours need to be put into catching some

vibes, and I have had most of my luck on hardbodies in nice calm pools of water that have a bit of flow coming into them. I’ve found that where a bit of light current is coming into a decent-sized hole, there are usually yellas

You can find yellas sitting near the current edges. but I’ve also done a bit of trout fishing too. Targeting yellas in the spring can still be hard work, as the water temperatures

quality fish, but it has been well worth the effort. I’ve been fishing the local waterways, primarily with smaller hardbody lures and

sitting near the current edges feeding on food sources that come through the current and into the hole. So I like to cast my lures through this to try

and imitate something that will provoke a strike. My mate Tom and I went out for a few adventures and both times all fish landed came from this kind of water. There have been a few trips where they have been completely off the chew, and other trips I was getting a lot of fish follow me right up to my feet, but slowly swimming off back to the depths. Personally, I’ve found that in spring this can happen a lot, but as the warmer weather comes about they usually strike a lot more and tend to get more aggressive. I often mention persistence, and I swear by always persisting and to just keep casting. It only takes one more cast to change your day and your results. I’ve heard some good reports from Lake Hume of late. The yellas are still a bit far off in there, but a few have still been popping up particularly on the troll. Trout have been the most common catch for anglers willing to spend the hours to target them, and some of the trout caught have been of a very respectable size. Most of these trout have been caught using smaller diving lures, or the old faithful Tassie Devils. Some anglers have had more

success deeper, but I’ve also heard of a few being caught on shallower diving lures. So, it could be worth trying both. Again, it’s time on the water and confidence, these elements mixed together should result in catching a

Yellas are hard work this season, but worth the effort.

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few fish, and it never hurts to change things up a bit if the bite is a little slow. So I’m going to just keep persisting as always, and just keep having fun doing what I adore. Tight lines!

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Red and gold are the colours of November CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

The Canberra fishing community is still mourning the loss of angling great and local fishing icon Dr Bryan Pratt. Dr Pratt will be remembered as a

true innovator and conservationist within our sport and there will never be his like again. He is sorely missed. Although we are still feeling the loss of Bryan’s passing, I know he wouldn’t want me to skip any of the local fishing action (which he always reported

on so expertly in this magazine), especially now that it is November which, from memory, was one of his favourite months for targeting golden perch in our lakes. It is obvious why Bryan was always fond

perch fired up early this year and have maintained their ferocious feeding habits even, although the lake has warmed quite quickly. The best results have come when anglers have made use of a slow drift (on quiet days) to work shallow

Michael Wilson has cracked Yerrabi, landing numerous redfin like this recently.

Matthew Skorupa with an epic golden caught while sight fishing at Googong.

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David Pidcock with a solid Burley Griffin golden. The fishing through November on Burley Griffin has been excellent. of November, because although the weather has been a mixed bag lately, the yellas are well and truly on the bite and in good numbers. There have been so many healthy specimens caught by anglers employing a variety of techniques, from twitching soft plastics through the snags to slow rolling divers around artificial structures. The redfin are also firing, with plenty of solid fish on the chew right throughout the capital right now. LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is fishing well for all three target species, being redfin, carp and golden perch. The golden perch have been especially active the last few weeks, feeding right throughout the day on just about anything. I have caught good-sized fish using plastics hopped near sunken timber, but have also landed several quality specimens along the rock walls lining Lady Denman Drive. This is a deep section of the lake, but the fish are holding quite close, so it is a matter of letting the plastic sink only a few metres before starting the retrieve. Medium-sized redfin are hunting along the edges at the entrance to the Molongolo near the hospice up to the bridge. These fish can be targeted using small poppers, but also blades retrieved quickly near the top of the water column. A number of anglers have also picked up some good carp by casting soft plastics around the new wharf at Henry Rolland Park. Lake Ginninderra continues to produce good fish for those casting from a kayak or boat. The golden

diving minnows and vibes around the points. The old police jetty is also worth a look, as some good-sized redfin and carp have been caught there recently by shore-based anglers casting

regularly and dramatically with no clear reason. This could explain the patchy fishing and why on one day the fish are going crazy and the next are nowhere to be seen. That said, on its day, Lake Tuggeranong is one of Canberra’s best urban fisheries and well worth a look, especially on rainy days when the water is more oxygenated. Yerrabi Pond is another Canberra fishery proving difficult to crack. The last few weeks have seen

Work the shallow margins to find the reds during November. plastics near the dense weed beds, which sit a few metres from the jetty. If chasing a trophy golden, try the dam wall at dawn or dusk with a blade or vibe and work the lure slowly up the wall back to your position. Lake Tuggeranong is a real mixed bag at the moment. Some absolutely enormous golden perch have been landed by a few lucky anglers targeting the rock wall behind the college. There have also been a couple of big reds landed behind the library and up near Greenway. However, some days the lake has been completely shut down, leaving anglers baffled. I have been chatting with an ecologist who has been running some tests on the lake. It turns out that Lake Tuggeranong’s oxygen levels change

the pond heat up, but this hasn’t changed the fact that the pond is infested with weed, making working a lure difficult. However, the fish are there, and local gun Michael Wilson landed

a few good-sized redfin and several golden perch during one particularly productive afternoon. The trick to fishing yerrabi is to use a small ‘wriggler style’ plastic in 65mm with a 1/16oz jighead. Work the lure slowly, allowing for long pauses on the bottom (up to 10 seconds) before hopping the lure again. Slow and steady is best for Yerrabi. SURROUNDS Googong is returning to its very best. Goldens are cruising the shoreline looking for an easy meal, and packs of large redfin are chasing bait near the surface, often busting up around boats and kayaks. If you happen to witness this, quickly change to a small surface popper and try for a 40cm plus red. These fish are a lot of fun on light gear and are for most anglers a welcome by-catch as they taste great. If targeting the oversized goldens in Googong, go for a walk around the edge of the dam and sight cast plastics along the margins. This is one of the most exciting forms of fishing at Googong and aside from a cod boof, there isn’t much more exciting than watching a 60cm yella inhale a plastic in close. Just ask Mathew Skorupa, who has caught some epic fish practising this method.

Shallow divers are working well for goldens in the local lakes.

Farewell to Dr Bryan Pratt (1937-2018) CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

On September 21, Dr Bryan Pratt lost his battle with throat cancer. Dr Pratt was a scientist, conservationist, journalist, expert angler and is the reason why Googong is one of the best native impoundments in the country. He was a local legend in Canberra and commanded great respect among anglers from around Australia. Those who paid tribute to him at the time of his passing included visionaries like Rod Harrison and Al McGlashan, which shows the incredible impact he had in the upper echelons of the angling fraternity. Dr Pratt also wrote the Canberra column for this magazine. He did a superb job, reporting honestly and with wry wit, often giving unique insights into techniques to employ when targeting Murray cod or golden perch. His discussions involving trout will also live long in the memory, and I’m sure a lot of readers will miss his clever take on trout fishing.

I had my first conversation with Bryan when I was 18, nearly 20 years ago. It was my first

visit to a tackle shop in search of a spin combo, and back then there really was only one choice when

a young angler wanted new gear: ‘Pratty’s’ in Belconnen. I knew nothing about fishing, and Bryan

Dr Bryan Pratt caught some amazing fish during his angling career, including black bass.

walked me through how to spool my new reel, what line to choose, where I should fish first and what lure to cast. A few weeks later I landed several large golden perch, and I went back and saw Bryan. I told him the story, thanked him for the tips and left. To my surprise, when I picked up a copy of Fishing Monthly I found that Bryan had written about me and my captures. He called me a ‘young gun’. I felt on top of the world, because even in that short time I had come to realise his legendary status, and understood the value of his mentorship. From there, he became a referee whenever I applied for sponsorship, and he even encouraged me to write my first article for this magazine. One of Bryan’s lasting legacies will be the legion of anglers who he mentored. Many of these anglers have gone onto great things, like the guys from Team Goodang and Nigel Webster from AFN. I am sure there will be many more over the coming years who will come to the fore and count Bryan as an inspiration.

Bryan’s book The Canberra Fisherman, despite being first published in 1979, is still considered the most thorough book written about fishing in the ACT. I thought I would finish with a quote from the introduction: “The purpose of this book is to introduce those who fish to those who do not, unsuccessful fishermen to those who are more successful and fishermen everywhere to a broader range of ideas, attitudes and opportunities gleaned, over many years from anglers in the Canberra district and from all over Australia.” This showcases Bryan’s willingness to share his experience (even some of his spots!) and speaks to the enormous impact he had on the fishing scene. Here was a fisherman of exceptional talent and deep understanding, willing to share his ideas with any who wanted to listen – novices and experts alike. He believed wholeheartedly in the concept of educating young anglers on conservation and the need for catch and release to ensure the long-term survival of our native fish. He will be missed.

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NOVEMBER 2018

All systems are go in Wagga WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

November brings with it some exciting fishing! Water temperatures are getting higher and the fishing activity follows suit, which means plenty of opportunities for all anglers in the region.

BLOWERING DAM This November will be one of the most exciting in Blowering Dam’s history, because not only can we target the actively feeding golden perch, but we can also target the aggressive and hungry cod population now that it is open year round. At this time of year the water temperature will start

reaching 18-20°C, which means the cod should be finished their breeding cycle and will start to feed aggressively again. There is usually a period when the cod are more interested in breeding than feeding, but hopefully this should have passed by now. By now though they should be wanting to feed

The Tumut River is well worth a trip for both fly and spin anglers.

up again after a busy few weeks breeding, so casting the rocky banks in the afternoons, mornings and during the night is well worth it. Spinnerbaits, soft plastics, chatterbaits, swimbaits and even surface lures will work. If you notice you are missing hits (which will be from smaller fish 50-80cm) try downsizing your lure and use 120-160mm lures rather than the large 200mm plus versions. Yellowbelly during this month are a must to target, especially on the rocky banks. They will be schooling up in big numbers and will group together on the rocky points at the wall end of the dam. Our favourite technique at this time of year is to hang off the points in 6-8m of water and cast onto the point with yabby imitation soft plastics or blades and slowly hop them down the point. Make sure to give the lure a 2-4 second pause, because the yellowbelly will readily suck them off the bottom. TUMUT RIVER The Tumut River is a must from now and all through summer! The insect activity has already started

Tallis loves a 3/8oz spinnerbait for targeting yellowbelly in the river and creek at this time of year. You can even flick small hardbodies at them if you’re not a fly angler. Just a word of advice, hold on, because they go crazy and many of them will manage to bust you off in such tight water.

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The author with a giant by-catch carp caught on fly while targeting golden perch.

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and the large rainbows and browns will be aggressive and feeding hard. Even though the river is running high and always does over summer, it doesn’t mean you cannot fish it. Using hardbodies and casting them across the river and allowing them to work as they swing across the current is dynamite on rainbows that sit in the fastflowing water. For those of you who are keen fly anglers, using insect patterns and sight casting to big browns sitting in the edges is my favourite way to fish. All you need to do is walk the edges and look in the still eddies and you’ll spot big browns sitting there waiting for a feed. Dropping willow grubs, hoppers, cicadas, beetles and nymphs on them is great fun!

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER AND OLD MAN CREEK Closer to home around Wagga, the river and creek is always worth a visit

for some of the resident goldens. Old Man Creek is your best bet if you’re just walking the banks. Casting small hardbodies between 50-60mm and small spinnerbaits is a great way to go. Willow trees and spindly timber are the best areas to fish when targeting goldens rather than the heavy timber. The creek can be fished from a kayak, but remember it is flowing extremely quickly and high, so you need to be careful. Bait fishing at this time of year with the family is great fun in the river, as the smaller fish are active and the weather is perfect! Worms, yabbies and shrimp are best and you’ll be sure to catch a carp or maybe a yellowbelly, even if you are fishing from the bank around Wagga. If you’re super keen on your fishing or if you just want to take the kids for an arvo one Sunday, now is the time to do it! The days are warmer and longer and the fish are biting!

Blowering cod are extremly active at the moment, and will hit most lures including the 22cm Westin Shad Teez like this one did.

Fish firing with snowmelt SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Rod Allen

Fishing up here in the Snowies has been consistently producing. One of the hardest decisions you’ll have to make is which of our three amazing lakes to fish. They are all fishing well and offering up plenty of options. Eucumbene is finally on the rise, with the snowmelt making its way down to the lake, as well as the portal from Tantangara feeding the river. It’s a welcome change for the bank anglers and for those launching a boat, as it’s changed from battling through mud to a much firmer footing. Spin fishing over the yabby beds has been producing amazing days at Seven Gates, Rushes Bay, Buckenderra

results on scrubworms, Powerbait and grubs. Trolling the ever-reliable Tassie Devil, bullet, or Strike Pro Flatz Minnow will have

The author and his son headed out to find some trout at Seven Gates. you seeing first hand the reputation Eucumbene has built as one of the mainland’s finest wild trout fisheries. There are reports of 30-40

The author and a fine trout. Lake and Braemar Bay with soft plastics, Strike Pro Flatz Minnows, bullets and No4 Celtas. Bait fishing has also been very productive, with everyone enjoying great

Flyfishing has been very rewarding so far this year and it is looking to get even better. Blind fishing large wets like Buggers and

quality, well-conditioned and healthy fish in a weekend. It’s great to see all anglers respecting regulations by only taking their bag of five or less and practising catch and release on the rest.

Simpsons down and around the boulders or tree margins is as good a way to bump into a trout as anything, and once the right bank has been located, there is no need to go wandering off too far to try to find another fish. Dry flyfishing has been a bit of a sketchy one on the lake of late, but I am always prepared for it just in case. I like to have a few size 18 Klinkhammers in brown. I have found there isn’t much difference in results when I use other colours, but brown is my go-to. I don’t worry about size with the Griffith’s Gnat, and quite often I use it as an indicator to a buzzer, for when the time comes that the midge are abundant enough for the trout to lock in on them. Lastly, I use a Shaving Brush in 16 for the duns. Tantangara rose above 50% before the portal opened and helped the Euc River to raise Eucumbene. Prior to this, Tantangara had a lot of new-grassed ground covered and the fish were strangely a little slow to react. A few fish were taken off the bank, but the boat anglers faired the best if they could locate the start of the submerged old lake edge and grass. As the lake dropped the edge fishing, particularly polaroiding with

fly, stepped up to cover any disappointments. Placing a Pheasant Tail nymph to a fish less than 1ft off a steep edge of a huge lake is something I will never get sick off. Night fishing the shallow bays of Tangy with mudeye style imitations is an awesome way to spend a few hours after dinner, and can sometimes be the best way to connect to a mystery of the dark. I consider this lake to be the most reliable still water evening hatch venue in the Snowies. All you need is the Klinkhammer (brown of course), Griffith’s Gnat Red Tag and shaving brush. Bait fishing has been good, with the best times easily as those hours just before and after dawn and dusk. Scrubworms and grubs fished with as little weight as possible, or mudeyes under a running float into deeper areas during the day and in close at night. Trolling with most lures in white has seemed to be a recent trend and while it is working, go

All methods are producing when chasing trout. of fishery over recent years, to a much more consistent producer. Brown trout have appeared in great numbers and in superb condition throughout the year to all

The author with an Seven Gates trout. with it! Clown Tassie and white widow Bullets are accounting for their fair share lately but then again, so have Rapala spotted dogs, so you can make the call on that one. Jindabyne has gone from a bit of a hit and miss type

methods, and are continuing to do so. The supplementary stocking of rainbow trout adds to its own wild naturally occurring population, as well as the annual brook trout and Atlantic salmon stockings. This has produced some exciting and mysterious

fishing. It’s a thrill to wonder what you may have on the end of your line and it could be any of the four species. Some like to target the huge Atlantic salmon by trolling big flashy lures or some go the more subtle approach with bullets, Strike Pro Flatz or Tassie Devils in the hope of a Snowies grand slam of all four species in the one day. Jindabyne’s banks have been just as good of an option with bait and spin fishos doing great with blades and Celtas around dawn and dusk, with Tassies and bullets better through the day. Bait fishing has been best with scrubworms, grubs, and PowerBait at the main areas of Jindabyne, such as Curiosity Rocks, Hatchery Bay and also over at Kalkite. • The 45th annual Snowy Mountains trout festival will be running from Saturday 3 November to Friday 9 November. For your chance to share in $30,000 worth of prizes or more info go to www.troutfestival.com.au, or call us at Alpine Angler on (02) 6452 5538, find and message us on Facebook or drop in to the shop.

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Bass anglers are benefiting from some big bites HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

Summer is looking to continue to be dry in the Hunter Valley. We have had some rain over the end of winter and now into spring, and this kept some water flowing into the lakes, but not enough to maintain the level or create a rise. April 2016 was the last decent rise the impoundments had. The fish are still there to be caught, but they may be a little harder to catch and lacking weight with the reduced amount of bait around.

GLENBAWN Lake Glenbawn may fish a little up and down this month. One technique may work in one weather condition and not in another, and the weather will dictate how you should plan your tactics. Having multiple lures to select from will help to quickly work out what they want on the day. There is practically no weed left in Glenbawn, and this is upsetting the baitfish and crawfish population, which in turn affects the fish. I feel the edge bite will be very light-orientated and revolve around the wind to hold the fish shallow. Timber and rock will remain the

The author took this chunky river bass. The local river should be really firing this month. Both Glenbawn and St Clair’s water temperatures should be reaching around 22-24°C this month. Generally, this puts the fish at their most active and has them willing to hit an array of lures. This is also probably the best time of the year to experiment with all lure types.

best cover to target, as this gives them something to hold off when there is no other structure around. Steeper banks with some deep water close by will hold more fish than shallower ones. Topwater action is almost a certainly in November, as with less bait below the water’s surface the fish will

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start looking elsewhere. A drought usually drives them into eating topwater at abnormal times, like mid-winter. Depending on the rain, the cicadas may be out in the trees along the banks close to the water, especially in the main basin. These cicadas can send the bass into feeding frenzies and I’ve even seen them slurping them off the top in the middle of the day. Low light is always going to be the easiest time to get a surface bite. A cicada imitation should be your first choice, with lots of pauses and shaking on the spot in the retrieve. If the slower surface retrieve is not working, try speeding things up, looking for a reaction bite. A surface walker, buzzbait, walk-the-dog style or wakebait can stir those lookers into biters. After trying a topwater, a reaction style lure is the next best thing. A lipless crank, bladed jig, crankbait, spinnerbait or blade are my favourite reaction lures. Something that creates vibration will usually work. Casting tight to the edge following the contour of the bottom in your retrieve back to the boat is the best method of fishing them. A nice slow steady retrieve and occasional pause to let it hit the bottom should be enough to entice a strike. A reaction style lure will work well in low light, over cast and windy conditions. If you are fishing on a glassed-out and blue sky day the fish will generally be sitting tighter to cover and out wider in deeper water. A skirted jig with a 2-3” craw trailer in a 3/8-3/4oz weight is a great lure for dragging and bumping over the timber and rock. This will target the fish tight to cover that are not willing to come up and hit a reaction lure. For anyone who hasn’t fished a jig, pay close attention to what’s being transmitted through your rod as you’re dragging te jigs across the bottom, and feel for anything out of the ordinary. Losing contact with the bottom or feeling a bite then no weight is a dead giveaway that a fish has picked up your jig. Strike hard to drive the hook in past the fibre weed guard. Casting out wider parallel to the banks into 20-30ft will target schooling and suspended fish. A 3/8-1/2oz blade, slow rolled deep spinnerbait, tail spinner, bladed jig or anything that vibrates should catch these fish. Trolling deep divers that can reach 15ft or more along tree lines and rock walls should also catch plenty of fish this month. ST CLAIR Lake St Clair weed beds have surprisingly been

Kahlee Noble and a nice bass caught on a skirted jig. holding on this year. The lack of rain has had them dying off, but a band around the edges seems to be maintaining as the water level drops. Having little to no weed isn’t always a bad thing at Lake St Clair. As the baitfish don’t have abundant cover to hide in, it can make it easier to find the bass and golden perch. In saying this, the weed is key to finding those bigger fish in the lake. Once you find some thick weed that comes up a few feet off the bottom, you know you can slow down and pick the area apart. Topwater lures will be going off this month at the lake. The bass living shallow cannot help themselves when it comes to a surface offering. The number of insects around at this time of year get the fish looking up for their next meal at St Clair. Any topwater lure will work in the right conditions. You can play around with anything from fast-moving lures and retrieves to a slow style with lots of pauses. Reaction style lures will work around the weed after the surface bite has died off. Bladed jigs and spinnerbaits are great for slipping over the weed. A lipless crankbait hopped and ripped out of the weed will catch some fish as well. A finesse style of approach like a jerkbait or paddle-tail plastic will work this month if the reaction style baits don’t get eaten. If these baits still don’t produce, you can slow down and fish a skirted jig and craw trailer or weedless plastic. Sink these into the weed beds holes and edges. Slowly drag and hop them along the bottom in the same way you would at Glenbawn. Looking out deeper at St Clair there should be some larger schools forming because of the lack of weed.

Any place from 10ft out into 30ft you could come across some concentrations of fish. A hopped blade or tail spinner should work on these fish. Rolling a plastic through them can also catch some fish. Trolling is another option that is great for the kids. St Clair has hardly any trees, and this makes it easy to follow the edge of the banks. It is a technique that will produce

fish turning up each day. November is my favourite month to fish in the rivers, as the fish are spread out and aggressive. Topwater frogs rigged weedless or hollow body styles are great for tossing into hard-to-reach areas. Generally getting the lure in that zone is the hardest part, but the fish are quick to react to whatever enters.

The author loves chasing impoundment bass in spring. a lot of fish this month, as you can cover a lot of water finding the active fish. Deep divers that can reach 10-15ft should see plenty of eager fish jump on. RIVERS AND CREEKS Unfortunately, the lack of rain and water flow in some of the smaller creeks and rivers has been slowing down the migration of bass back up into the upper reaches so far. The creeks that still have a decent flow should see more

Underhand, pitch or skip cast them into overhanging snags and hold on. Use spinnerbaits or beetle spins as the sun gets higher. These are semi snag less and work a treat for bumping over timber lay downs. Once the sun gets high around that 8-9am, a skirted jig or small blade worked slow into the deeper sections will target the bass as they pull away from the banks to rest up during the middle of the day.

Riding the storms and finding the weed LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

To look and wonder what the afternoon and evening will bring weather wise at this time of year is lost on most people, which is a real shame, as it’s one of nature’s big shows. Many are time poor – just too busy – myself included… but when I’m fishing, I feel connected and plugged in to the happenings that surround me. If it’s a trout stream like the Fish River it’s the flutter of wings in the sky above that I’m looking for. I also look out for the swallows that dip and dart, loop and swoop. How they manage to engulf airborne termites at such speeds is beyond me, but they seem to do it with such graceful ease. Before long the termite hatch has reached fever pitch, and meanwhile out back the first rumble of thunder is a stark reminder that the clock is ticking… I’m sure the trout feel it too, and caution is thrown to the oncoming wind. A rise frenzy like no other breaks out, and more

than once I’ve looked in amazement at pools that I thought were barren come alive with activity. It’s like the ground itself has given birth to trout and released them into the water to eat termites. Seeing trout feeding in such a frenzy conjures up images of hooked fish one after the other. Matching the hatch is obviously very

only spook fish. Stay low and concentrate intently on your fly, which is easier said than done in the heat of the moment when trout are smashing everything within sight and the old rumble clock is ringing in the distance. FLICK THE SWITCH One would be forgiven for thinking that the small confines of a trout river

Approaching storms can turn passive onlookers into feeding machines, and odd happenings can become the norm for a few frantic minutes. important, with size being the number one factor. Be content with your first presentation, they will find it, and picking up constantly to re-cast will

can be effected more than a large body of water by an approaching storm, and this may be the case to some degree, but changes do occur in our lakes as well.

On more than one occasion while fishing for golden perch in Windamere Dam or bass in Lake Lyell an approaching storm has been like some sort of mega meal dinner bell on an all you can eat deal for fish, with limited seats! My advice is stay with it while it lasts, as it can be very short-lived. Having said that, keep in mind that storms and open water don’t mix, so make the call early to pull up on the bank, batten down the hatches, suit up and sit it out. More often than not, twenty minutes will see most Central Tablelands storms fizzle out. In my experience things are usually pretty dull when it comes to catching fish post storm. A quiet lull transcends across the land with nature’s atmospheric clean out complete, the smell of petrichor is rife, especially at speed heading back to the ramp. With a passing distant light show on display, it makes owning a boat at such times an absolute a pleasure. WEED IS WHERE IT’S AT It matters little what you fish for or where you fish, weed beds are a sign

Golden perch patrol weed edges regularly. The food available in and around them is on tap, so you should familiarise yourself with this weed bed environment. of a healthy productive waterway. Brown trout and bass in Lake Lyell will frequent bays with a weed fringe in November, especially under low light conditions. Wave action can complete the round table dinner circle so to speak, creating a washing machine effect whereby food is dislodged from the weed creating a smorgasbord of feeding opportunities. To dismiss it for the sake of a little discomfort is a sin in my book. There are a lot of factors that go into having healthy

weed beds, with water level fluctuations have a huge impact. Stable, clear waters are the best scenario, an light penetration and good soils also help. Fishing lures around them is a science, but to put it simply if you concentrate on the edges and holes, spend time mapping them in your noggin and fish them on a regular basis, you will catch more fish. Weeding up a set of hooks is par for the course, but I’ll take fouled hooks filled with weed 50% of the time any day if it means catching more fish.

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1 7 of

BOATING PACKAGES + A HILUX UTE NOVEMBER 2018

Blowering brimming with options BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

Blowering Dam has fished quite well over the last couple of months and this trend should continue this month. Golden perch have been the main target for most anglers as they normally are at this time

who put the effort in were rewarded. GOLDEN PERCH It’s no secret that golden perch fire during the spring months, no matter where you fish, but this is especially true at Blowering Dam. During spring it is not uncommon to land ten or more a day, whereas the rest of the year if you can manage to land more

Redfin will push up into the shallows this month and can be targeted a number of ways including on surface lures. of the year, but due to the lift of the Murray cod closed season at Blowering Dam there has been plenty of anglers trying their best to hook a few XOS Murray cod, and many of those anglers

than one golden perch a day you’re doing very well. In saying that, this month will be your last good chance to get amongst good numbers of big golden perch, so don’t postpone any November trips.

Bait fishing with worms and yabbies is a popular way of targeting the golden perch population this month, as they start to move off the edges and into slightly deeper water. Lure casting has been awesome over the last couple of months, with cricket scores of big golden perch being landed on the cast. Although there will be still plenty of fish willing to hit a cast lure, action on the cast should start to slow down a little this month. Small spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits as per usual have been the main fish takers, however suspending hardbodied lures and plastics have been stand outs when the fish have been too finicky to hit your usual lures. Trolling in 3-7m of water is another good way to target the slightly deeper goldens and some of the better lures to troll are the locally made Stuckey Lures, Troll Crafts Double Downers, AC Slim Invaders, Viking Lures, Balista Dynos and lipless crankbaits, especially the Slap Walkers, which have three tow points allowing anglers to adjust their trolling depth without having to change lures.

REDFIN As the majority of the goldens start to move away from the edges of the dam, the resident redfin find the nerve to move up around the edges of the dam to take their place, and these redfin can be caught on just about anything. Using worms or maggots as bait will almost definitely get you a feed, however if you’re keen to keep active, try casting small feather tailed spinners like Bling Spins and Rooster Tails. If the fish are fairly active you will catch far more fish this way then you will by bait fishing. Small 1-2” soft plastics in white, pink or red or a combination of these colours are also worth a chuck around the banks while land-based. Trolling is a proven method for targeting the

Spring is the best season by far for hooking into giant golden perch. redfin, so stick to around the 3-7m mark with small lures and you will soon find a school. Once a school is located, I strongly recommend pulling up and casting small lures around the area you just caught a fish from. By doing this you will increase your catch rate considerably.

The Tumut River holds a massive population of good-sized rainbow trout and is always worth a flick no matter what the river flow is.

TROUT STREAMS The trout season reopened last month and anglers have had some amazing results since the opening. The Tumut River as always was the pick of the bunch, with countless fish being landed from most anglers. On top of the great fishing in the Tumut River most of the smaller streams offered some great angling at the opening, and this to should continue and possibly even get better as the weather warms up and insect life increases. So as you can see, there are many different fishing options in the greater Batlow area from trout fishing in our rivers and streams through to lake fishing for Murray cod, golden perch and redfin. So no matter what your favourite species is or type of fishing you like, there is something to cater for you all. Dust off the fishing gear and go and get amongst some of the best freshwater fishing to be had in the entire country.

Windamere edge bite ORANGE

Michael Collison thegurusgear@gmail.com

Ultralight Outboard Motors For kayaks, canoes and very light boats

The edge bite over at Windamere is only going to get better this month. As temperatures rise the fish will begin to school up and start to spawn, and the yellas will start to feed hard. The yellas are currently getting stuck into yabbies and shrimp, and I’ve found that the best way to target these fish at the moment

is with an Ecogear ZX 40. Use black or brown as they are the best colours to represent at bait they are eating. If you’re after a bigger class of fish, try throwing a Zerek 95mm Fish Trap in the MM or BJ colours. The best way to work these lures is to keep them as close as you can to the bottom or snag, with small, sharp hops and shakes. If you’re not getting weeded up or snagged, you’re not fishing in the right spot as these fish love rocks and tree laydowns.

I have fished in a couple of tournaments over at Windamere in recent weeks, and we were lucky enough to win the AYC and the Golden Classic. In the AYC we amassed a record bag of 10 fish for 51kg, and in the Windamere Golden Classic the average size in our 10-fish bag was 577mm. As you can see, it’s definitely fishing well at the moment. If you head over there you might be lucky enough to hook one of the biggest goldens in Australia.

With a total weight of 8.9kg including battery, the Torqeedo Ultralight won’t limit your paddling performance, but when called on it can give you the right push against the current, against the wind, or be called on to save your tired arms. Technology that is clean and state-of-the-art Find your closest dealer: email: web: phone:

NOVEMBER 2018

torqeedo@powerequipment.com.au www.powerequipment.com.au 1800 069 469

The author, Andrew Pulbrook and Josh Kopp with a few of their tournament-winning fish.

The search for perch brings silver and gold NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

With the warmer weather around and a handful of rainfalls in recent weeks, it is the perfect time to be out targeting all the perch species we have on offer in our waterways.

They are an awesome fish to target during the warmer months and are not to be forgotten about. The local impoundments are also fishing well of late. Copeton Dam has remained open for targeting Murray cod all year round and has continued to produce quality fish for the anglers putting

time to come back to its former glory, there are still some very nice fish to be caught. There have been a few reports of perch being caught around the dam on lures and both bait. Shrimp, worms and yabbies are a Pindari favourite for the bait anglers, and if you like to throw lures around instead, then anything around that 70mm mark and smaller is a good place to start. Beetle spins and small blades are favourites for finding active fish throughout the dam.

Pindari Dam is currently sitting at around half of its capacity. There have been no reports for the Severn River of late, although it is still available for fishing. I find it best to leave this waterway alone as even when yellowbelly fishing, by-catch of cod during spawn is pretty common. Only a few weeks left until Murray cod season opens back up again, so get out and enjoy the last of the beautiful Spring weather.

It’s not just golden perch turning up in our dams during spring – a few rogue silvers have been caught as well!

Fishing with lures around structure is a great way to find golden perch. Trout season has been open for a few weeks now and there have been many anglers getting amongst them after the break they had during the spawning season.

in the time and the effort. Swimbaits have been the most consistent way of tempting the cod to bite, although surface lures at this time of year are another good option.

The most important thing to remember when targeting Murray cod with these methods is the retrieve speed. Working the bait as slow as you can and tricking the cod into thinking it is real can be difficult, but it’s what is needed with the bigger smarter fish that Copeton has to offer. There have also been reports of the cod eating the smaller lures intended for the golden perch as well, and this has tended to become a common thing at this time of year. Hopping blades and small soft plastic lures

around rocky points or trolling lipless crankbaits around the trees have been great ways to look for active yellowbelly. Once a school is located, if you persist long enough, usually a handful of perch can be caught in the same spot, which makes for some pretty exciting fishing. Copeton Dam has been slowly dropping water levels in recent weeks. Pindari Dam is in a lot better condition than it was several weeks ago with the big fish kill that happened out there. Although it will take the dam a long

Yellowbelly provide plenty of fun for anglers while they eagerly await the re-opening of cod season.

BUSINESS PROFILE

Iconic Aussie jigheads Following the exciting announcements and new releases at the Australian Lure and Fly Expo in Ipswich this year, Barambah Lures’ Matt Fraser is proud to launch his new range of flathead and barramundi specific jigheads.

to rig them on a jighead specifically deigned for the task. The keepers will keep even the most supple plastics hard up against the head without the use of superglue, and the range of colours, sizes, and weights means that there’s a Barambah jighead for every

Coming Soon!

and 12oz weights, and a 6/0 hook size in 3/8, 5/8 and 1/0oz weights. In the barramundi range, you’ll find four hook sizes, and two different weights for each model. There’s a 6/0 in 1/4 and 38oz, a 7/0 in 3/8 and 1/2oz, and 8/0 in 1/2 and 3/4oz, and 9/0 in 5/8 and

• AUTHEN

TIC BY NATURE •

Interchangeable, dual bib system for wake bait or paddler actions. JIGHEADS

JIGHEADS

With every component purpose-built for iconic Australian native sportfish, they’re definitely worth a look for any keen lure anglers out there. Matt has been making jigheads for over 15 years, and in that time has managed to refine the small details of his jigheads, down to the hook, resulting in a tool that will catch anglers more fish. Being two of Australia’s most popular sportfishing targets, it just makes sense when using plastics

angling scenario on these two iconic species. In the flathead range you’ll find a chartreuse glow-in-the-dark bottom, a hot pink, and a natural baitfish colour, which you can buy in packs of just one colour, or an assortment. The methodically sculpted head shape makes the plastic always ride true, while also sporting an irresistible minnow shape, and not a shapeless chunk of lead. The flathead specific heads are available in a 4/0 hook size with 1/4, 3/8

3/4oz. There’s also an eyelet on the bottom for attaching a stinger, and anyone who fishes for barra regularly knows how important it is to maximise your hook up potential when fishing for this hard-mouthed battler, with the ability to reject lures like no other fish. For more information on these new jigheads, and for updates about Barambah Lures, visit the Facebook page at ‘Barambah Lures’, or jump on over to www. barambahlures.com. au. - FMG

Available in 5 colours

Unique Australian designed lures and jigheads by Matt Fraser

JIGHEADS

JIGHEADS Available in 3 colours

Available in 8 sizes Available in 6 sizes

Launching 2nd November, 2018 www.barambahlures.com NOVEMBER 2018

WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI BIG GRIP DIGITAL SCALE

NEW SUGAPEN COLOURS

The Samaki Big Grip Digital Scale has so many features that it’s hard to name them all. For starters, the ergonomic big grip handle is ideal for weighing big fish, with the scale catering up to 50kg or 100lb. It’s very comfortable to hold in the hand while you ready your catch for the weighing process. The casing is completely waterproof and holds a 100cm measuring tape for you to document your catch with ease. The Samaki Big Grip Digital Scale also has a backlit LED screen to give you readings in low light environments, plus a built-in thermometer in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. For more information and stockists just visit the Samaki website, or you can follow them on Instagram (@samakifishing) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/samakifishing). www.samaki.com.au

The Sugapen is one of the most popular surface lures on the market today, and it comes in sizes that cater for both estuary and offshore fishing. Now the range has recently been expanded to include sizes from 58mm through to 120mm, which gives the lure enormous versatility. Bassday has also expanded the colour range, and now two new variations have been added. The current Sugapen colours remain, with the two completely new Australia-only additions being a red tiger-striped clear and gold tiger-striped clear with a pink head. For more information on this and other new releases from Bassday, visit their website or look them up on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BassdayAus. www.bassday.com.au

SUFIX 131 G-CORE

HALCO MAX 220

The new Sufix 131 G-CORE is a 12-carrier braided line with an additional GORE Performance Fiber.These 13 fibres combine to guarantee a strong construction with no weak points, delivering reliability during casting, strikes and fighting action. The single strand of GORE Performance Fiber is surrounded by 12 precision braided HMPE fibres, and this results in a super-round line that is smoother, quieter and casts more accurately and further than other lines. Sufix 131’s non-hollow construction does not absorb water, thus preventing the line from getting heavier and reducing casting distance. Its solid structure also avoids conventional braid flattening, while the Gore centre fibre also protects the line from internal fraying. This new line is currently available in 4lb to 50lb in 150 yard neon chartreuse spools, and 10lb to 100lb in 300 yard neon chartreuse. Keep an eye out for it in leading tackle stores. www.rapala.com.au/sufix

DAIWA HRF SONIC SPEED 9.1R-TW

Dressed in red and ready to tear up the water, Daiwa releases its fastest HRF baitcaster ever, the HRF Sonic Speed 9.1R-TW. The super car of the HRF line-up features the designs, strength and performance that has made the HRF famous, with the revolutionary T-Wing System (TWS), Hyper Digigear, Super Metal body, Magforce Z, Magseal, Speed Shaft and corrosion resistant ball bearings (CRBB) combining to make this reel a must-have for saltwater baitcaster fans. Stopping power is at your fingertips with Daiwa’s UTD, giving you the muscle to stop fish in their tracks, while a 100mm swept handle and large EVA knobs offer added comfort and ultimate handle control. Loaded with features and with a spec sheet to impress, the new super-charged HRF Sonic Speed 9.1R-TW is a baitcaster that’s designed to amaze its users and is impossible to forget. www.daiwafishing.com.au 66

NOVEMBER 2018

PRODUCT GUIDE 2 1

If you love the sound of a reel screaming in agony as line pours off the spool, then Halco Tackle has developed the perfect lure for you in the Max 220. Halco has developed an ultra tough, sinking, bibless minnow that will get the attention of any XOS Wahoo and Mackerel, huge Tuna and other massive predators that lurk out in the deep blue. Capable of being trolled at very high speed (up to 20kt) like its smaller brothers, the lure features heavily reinforced side walls to resist punctures by the toothy brigade and able to withstand the incredible crushing pressure inflicted by the jaws of its intended victims. Halco rounded out the package by included their legendary ultra tough 7xx fish rings and Mustad 9/0 inline singles for great hook sets and the ultimate in holding potential. The lure is 220mm long, weighs 175g, and is designed for heavy trolling and jigging applications. If you are into fishing for the brutes of the ocean, look for the all new Max 220 at all good tackle outlets. www.halcotackle.com

BLACK MAGIC PINK 6 SHOCK LEADER Pink leader has been popular for some time, given that it is seen as less visible in certain water conditions. Although fluorocarbon options are common, Black Magic’s Pink Shock Leader is produced as a copolymer trace. This provides great value for money but still gives robust performance under stress. It retains the high performance in abrasion resistance and knot strength seen in Black Magic tough and supple trace. It’s coloured pink to provide less visibility, particularly when water conditions are a little murkier, and provides a more affordable option to anglers than fluorocarbon. Current breaking strains are 20lb, 40lb, 60lb, 80lb and 100lb. www.blackmagictackle.com

visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING DAIWA ELIMINATOR

Stunning in looks and flawless in design and performance, the new Eliminator delivers anglers one of their newest and most durable and reliable light to offshore tackle reels for some time. Designed to excel and built to perform, the Eliminator integrates many of Daiwa’s most innovative designs and technologies including Real Four, Digigear and Air Rotor, and blends them with proven designs and features to create a reel that has few peers. It features Daiwa’s famous ABS spool design, with the reverse taper spool enabling greater line control and increased casting distance. Daiwa’s ATD gives the Eliminator fingertip drag control and unrelenting stopping power. The Eliminator will never see you under gunned in the heat of battle. Dark in looks yet bright and bold in design and performance, the new Eliminator spin reel opens the door to a new age in light and offshore tackle durability and reliability. www.daiwafishing.com.au

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WILSON PLATINUM FISHING CHAIR

The new Wilson Platinum Fishing Chair is rated to 150kg and built with a wider base to ensure anyone can comfortably sit in it. This folding chair also has some clever additions for anglers. For starters there is a rod holder that can be easily attached to the left hand side of the chair on the legs, setting your rod at an easy angle. If you plan on getting up from your chair, the designers have included a peg for the leg to ensure the chair is secured to the ground, and a massive strike won’t tip the chair over. There is also a drink holder and a lined cooler bag in the arms, and a small bottle opener attached to the arm on a lanyard. On the right arm there is also a mobile phone holder pouch, to ensure your phone doesn’t get damaged when the action heats up. The comfy and strong Platinum Fishing Chair is available now in your choice of blue or purple. www.wilsonfishing.com

MAPSO SAJA #3

Mapso lures in recent years have become the go-to lures for the serious trout angler. Mapso is the Lukris house brand, which is known for their innovative ability and superior quality, and they offer 100% perfect spinning action every time. Lukris have been responsible for producing some of the world’s best known and most trusted brands. Now Lukris have released a couple of new colours in their popular Saja range of spinners in all four sizes. They have also released a larger Size 3 model that is 60mm long, weighs 7g and comes in twin packs. These will certainly be great for anglers wanting a bigger spinner for lake shore fishing, and anglers wanting a heavier lure for further casting distance. The new Size 3 size will also be suitable for a number of other species, including yellowbelly,

silver perch and bass. It is available in all 14 colours. To find out more visit the Juro Oz Pro Tackle website, or for the latest news and catch photos check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JuroOzProTackle. www.jurofishing.com

MARIA RERISE

Maria have an extensive range of floating and sinking stickbaits, but the new Rerise adds another dimension to the line-up. This new concept lure measures 130mm long, weighs 70g and can search deep areas normal minnows can’t reach. It sinks at one second per metre, allowing the angler to fish any level of the water column with the appeal of a tuned Japanese stickbait. The heavy weight enables lets you drop the lure to the bottom, and the swimming action imitates a wound baitfish, resulting in explosive strikes. Fitted with Owner ST-66 trebles and a strong wire through construction, the Rerise is ready to battle any pelagic you can target. It is available now in eight colours. www.ejtodd.com.au

HOBIE PET PFD

Why leave your pet at home while you enjoy a day on the water? You can now take your fur friend with you safely and in Hobie style, with the Hobie Pet PFD. Features include added flotation as a swim assist, grab handles, adjustable fit, leash attachment, side pockets, grab handles and soft foam undercarriage support. Happy days for furry friends! The Hobie Pet PFD is available in the following sizing: XS (12lb, 8’-12’ collar, 13’17’ body girth); S (12lb-24lb, 10’-14’ collar, 15’-21’ body girth); M (24lb-60lb, 13’-19’ collar, 18’-30’ body girth); L (60lb-90lb, 18’26’ collar, 24’-36’ body girth); XL (90lb-120lb, 22’-30’ collar, 30’-42’ body girth). Price: SRP $59 www.hobie.com

SHIMANO CATANA FD

The Catana has been revamped for 2018 and is perfect for anglers who are looking for a high quality reel at a reasonable cost. There are four reels in the re-launched Catana range, from 1000-4000 size, with the C2500, 3000, and 4000 HG having high retrieve ratios from 5.8-6.2:1 thanks to the presence of zinc DC gears. Perfect for freshwater, estuary and light offshore applications, the larger reels are capable of producing up to 8.5kg of drag power, so for relatively small reels this new range really packs a punch! The AR-C spool lip design increases casting distance, controls the development of wind knots, and creates less slap on the stripping guide. What more could you want from a spinning reel? They come with two SUS ball bearings, plus one roller bearing, so it’s smooth sailing all the way with these value packed reels. www.shimanofish.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au NOVEMBER 2018

WHAT’S NEW FISHING ZEREK TANGO SHAD 13 1M DIVER The Zerek 50mm Tango Shad 1m diver comes in floating only, and is ideal for all manner of estuary and freshwater fishing situations. There are 10 colours in the range, covering both natural and attractor patterns, including UV colours for maximum attraction. The 50mm Floating Tango Shad 1m diver has been an amazing success story in testing on a host of estuary and freshwater species. From flathead to bream and trout to redfin, this floating lure tested incredibly with some amazing captures. Attractor colours for dirty water, natural colours for clear water and UV colours to take advantage of the latest theories on fish’s vision see these lures cover every conceivable situation in terms of water conditions. To see the full range of colours, as well as other models in the Tango Shad series, visit the Wilson Fishing website. www.wilsonfishing.com

OKUMA KOMODO SS

The Okuma Komodo SS features stainless steel main gear, pinion gear and drive shafts, along with a multi-disc, high output Carbonite drag system, giving it a level of power and durability that is the best in its class. Drag output levels include 11kg maximum drag on the 350 size and 14kg maximum drag on the larger 450 size. The high quality build includes ALC: rigid diecast frame and sideplates with CRC (Corrosion-Resistant Coating process) and A6061-T6 machined aluminium anodized spool. A micro-click drag star allows precise drag settings, and Japanese ABEC-5 spool bearings and 6-pin Velocity Control casting system allow long, smooth casts. The 350 size is fitted with 6HPB+1RB SS bearings, while the 450 size boasts 7HPB+1RB. Other features include a synchronized levelwind, optimized for braid; zirconium line guide inserts for use with braid; dual antireverse and an on/off clicker. This big fish stopper is available in a 350 and 450 size in both a left and right hand model and a 350 size in a Power Handle version. A Power Handle is also available separately for the 450 size. Price: SRP $379-$399 www.okuma.com.au

OKUMA CERROS SPIN PODS

Designed in Australia to suit Australian species and techniques, the Cerros family of spin rods from Okuma are built on quality 30T Toray carbon blanks and are finished with SeaGuide Hero Hi-Grade 316 stainless steel, anti-tangle guides and Fuji reel seats. There are five 7’ models in the range, L, ML, M, H and XH, covering everything from bream and bass to snapper, barra and pelagic species. Cerros rods feature a stylish design, classic two-tone anodized metal components and crisp actions, and they are also excellent value for money. This new rod range is perfect for those anglers wanting to get into lure fishing, and are also deadly in the hands of experienced lure fishers. A selection of Cerros baitcast models are also available. For more information on the Cerros range and on other new releases, visit the Okuma website or like them on Facebook 68

NOVEMBER 2018

PRODUCT GUIDE

at www.facebook.com/okuma.australia. Price: SRP $119.90 www.okuma.com.au

WILDFISH SMOKER DUST

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The Wildfish Smoker dust and chips are perfect for hot smoking fish, poultry and other meats. They are the perfect addition to the Wildfish range of smokers. There are five flavours available: apple, hickory, peach, sheoak and wine. The wine flavour comes in a 200g bag of wood chips. All the other flavours are sawdust, and are available in 500g bags. The Wildfish Smoker cooker is constructed from long life stainless steel. It contains two smoking racks, a stainless steel drip tray and is supported on an elevated stand which houses two spirit burners for even cooking. Wildfish products are distributed by JM Gillies. For more information on the smokers and other products in the Wildfish range, visit the JM Gillies website. You can also find them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jm.gillies) and Instagram (@jm.gillies) www.jmgillies.com.au

GULP TWIN TAIL

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New for 2018 is the Berkley Gulp Twin Tail. The Twin Tail has more moves than a bowl of worms! A minnow profile with a set of twin tails that flutter and swim at any speed. Based on the crazy legs jerkshad, the designers have downsized this deadly concept to bite-sized 3” and 4” models. With 400X more scent dispersion that a plastic bait the Twin Tail is packed with Gulp scent to trigger more strikes. These new soft baits are currently available in either colours, including both natural and hivis variations, so you can match the hatch and the conditions. For more information, or to find your nearest stockiest, head over to the Berkley Australia website. For all the latest news, catch photos, videos, tips and tricks, check them out on Facebook at www.facebook. com/BerkleyFishingANZ. berkley-fishing.com.au

STRIKE PRO GUPPIE 18 NEW COLOURS Strike Pro has released two new colours in its popular Guppie swimbait lures and spare tails. There are three crltails and one Paddletail in five colours to match the Guppie lures. The TrueGlide Guppie has been the gold standard for handmade wood glide baits throughout Europe and the USA The paint schemes incorporate using paint or glitter on the inside shell of the bait, in addition to painting the outside shell, layering paint between topcoats for a 3-D effect. It also prolongs the colour of the bait fish after fish. Strike Pro has even replicated the 3-D eyes that TrueGlide are famous for. The Guppies body profile allows the lure to produce an amazing body roll and it slides from side to side in outstanding fashion. The Guppie also features an innovative cork screw at the tail of the bait allowing the angler to fish with either a curtail or paddletail soft plastic tail, creating the ultimate swim bait! The Guppie is a very effective lure that is deadly on barramundi, mulloway, murray cod and pelagic species. www.jurofishing.com

visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Field-testing Daiwa J-Braid Grand: it’s a J-Braid Grand life! Last year I was lucky enough to be sent a Daiwa Tatula baitcasting rod and reel combo to have a play with, and inside the box was a spool of the original J-Braid x4 line to fill it with. For a 4-ply braid which was certainly at the lower end of retail pricing in tackle stores, I was very impressed. Some 18 months later I’m still using that same spool of line. I have had some torrid battles with threadfin salmon that have put me in and around any number of artificial and natural structures, but the braid has held up beautifully. With that in mind, you can understand my excitement in June this year when we opened an AusPost express bag with four

TESTED

I normally leave the spooling up to the tackle store I buy line from, because they’ve usually got a machine and it’s faster, packs it on tighter and leaves me more time to spend far too much on lures. However, spooling the two reels myself actually gave me a really nice feel of the lines before I’d even wet them. The first thing I noticed from both weight classes was that the new J-Braid Grand is a much smoother profile than both the original 4-ply and 8-ply versions, and also very soft and supple. It had little to no memory coming off the spool, and didn’t lose colour as it ran through my fingers that were keeping tension as it filled the reels. If you’ve ever done this job you’ll know you can end up looking

Squid have great eyes but the 10lb J-Thread Fluorocarbon did the trick and was near impossible for this tiger to see.

Not bad for your first thready. The 30lb J-Braid Grand and J-Thread Leader combo held up well in some very tight country. spools of the new Japanese made Daiwa J-Braid Grand in multi-colour, and an equal amount of J-Thread fluorocarbon leader. I took two spools of braid – 10lb and 30lb – and two spools of leader to match, and headed home to fill some reels and plan my testing missions. The 30lb went on an old Luvias DA Custom 3000 (yes, the one with the tribal tattoos on the side), and the 10lb was wound onto my Emeraldas MX 2508. The heavier set-up would come with me when chasing threadfin on the Brisbane River, and the lighter pairing would be on hand for any estuary fishing that was on the cards.

like you’ve had a fight with a packet of Sharpies. Once both reels were full to capacity it was time to tie a couple of FG knots and a rod length or so of the J-Thread fluorocarbon leader. The bride and I were lucky enough to have a babysitter that night, so we went out for a kid-free dinner and then hit the river for some thready action. The braid cast both light and heavy lures very well, with no signs of wind knots or colour fading, and it wasn’t long before the first of five nice fish were hooked and trying their best to rub through the J-Braid and J-Thread on some pylons.

The line held up incredibly well on both wooden and metal structures. The fluorocarbon was scuffed and tattered by the end of the night, but didn’t even look like breaking or rubbing through. I am a notoriously terrible knot tier, but I managed to re-tie new leaders with ease, even with a heavier line class than I normally use. With the heavier combo proving itself so well, I was pretty pumped to get out and try the 10lb versions as soon as possible. Over the last few months they’ve been put to the test on bream, bass and squid. With this set-up the lures I’ve used and the situations I’ve used them has been a lot more varied than with the 30lb combo so while the strength and durability has certainly still been tested, it’s more about performance when casting lures for long periods of time in both fresh and saltwater arenas with topwater, diving and sinking hardbodied lures, squid jigs and soft plastics. In every situation it has performed like a braid and leader combo that you’d expect to pay twice as much for. Cast after cast it peeled off the reel with no memory, no wind knots and once I was connected to a fish or squid, performed very well under stress.

J-Braid Grand is available in both multicolour and island blue in weights from 6lb through to 80lb in 150 yard and 300yd spools with RRP’s starting from only $39.99. J-Thread fluorocarbon leader comes in spools of 100m for the 4lb to 20lb classes and 50m spools for 30lb to 80lb and RRPs from $22.99. If you’re after a high quality Japanese designed and manufactured braided line or fluorocarbon leader without breaking the bank, I would highly recommend asking your local tackle store for J-Braid Grand and J-Thread. - Rupe

Another victim of the J-Thread leader. Even on a bright sunny day the line was undetectable.

Having used the old J-Braid for a long time (and enjoyed it) meant it was easy for the author to see just how superior this new version is.

NOVEMBER 2018

DIY Lure Making: Hardbody jig clip Crabapillar FMG

Michael Thompson

For decades fishos have searched for that fair dinkum fishing lure hidden in every beer can. Many have tried, some have come close, but now we can say it has been found – Crabapillar! Crabapillar is a new and

innovative lure that can easily be made from a beer can. The commercially available hard and soft body lures are typically constructed from moulded plastic or timber. However, the hardbody jig clips are made from aluminium so they have all the strength and flexibility you would expect of a space age metal alloy added with the lightness and physical

characteristics of paper. The size and weight is up to your jig choice, from incredibly small to extra large, from feather light surface fishing, to heavy surf beach fishing. The big surprise is in how simple they are to make. It only takes a few minutes and they can target bream on rock walls, or whiting and flathead on the sand flats. All it takes is to cut

a piece out of a can and shape it into a 3 dimensional creature using the following method. In fact it’s so easy to make, I won’t put an age limit on it – we’ll just say that if you’re old enough to be competent with scissors, a kebab skewer, a hammer and nail and you should have no problem making one of these amazing lures. The lure designs have

undergone rigorous fieldtesting in some of the most arduous conditions Australia can offer, from the windswept beaches of Victoria to the crocodile-infested waters of the Territory. The more stressed and dinged they get the more realistic they look. FISHING WITH CRABAPILLAR The Crabapillar works

best with a 1/8oz jig and light rig of 30cm 4-6lb test fluorocarbon leader line and a good 9ft estuary rod with a light workable tip. It is ideal for gently hopping near some rock or reef when timed with the wave or current action. Tight little twitches of about 4-6cm, making full use of the rod tip action, will mimic the natural bait that often get washed

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Beer can, Scissors, kebab skewer, small hammer and nail, texture, wire, two beads for eyes and jig of size and weight of your choice. Optional materials are: O ring, fingernail polish and fishing lure holographic decal for dressing up. Start by cutting out the body of a beer can. Lay it out flat, use the top of the can, trace a 5.5cm diameter circle and cut it out. This is known as the blank.

Use a 3mm kebab skewer and bend the blank in half. This bend will create the ‘spine’ and provide the rigidity in the blank to maintain strength and integrity.

Using that measurement, in this case 27mm, mark the points where you will clip your jig in the centre. 70

NOVEMBER 2018

Measure the jig from the tie eye to about 10mm from the end of the hook. Ensure the choice of jig suits the 5.5cm blank. Larger jigs will need larger blanks.

Use the hammer and nail to gently tap through the material, but not too much.

off the rocks and suspended into the water column where opportunist predators are waiting. Drifting over the sand flats on the change of the tide has its own rewards because of the realistic resemblance to the creatures that live there, the legs scraping on the bottom make a racket. Use it in the manner you would use any jig is a good place to start –

the book is still being written on these fantastic new DIY beer can lures. I’ve had some success with jigging over the top of a solitary weed patch on the high tide for trevally. And remember you don’t have to limit yourself, you can experiment using larger, heavier jigs and DIY jig clips in deeper water. BEER CAN INGENUITY The aluminium alloy from

a beer can is strong, malleable and corrosion-resistant. The density of the material allows you to cut so fine that it takes almost no effort to make little legs or antennas, and even better, feathers which should pique the interest fly fishos. With a little direction from www.milkshakesuds.com and some practice you’ll be making all sorts of different lures for fresh and saltwater.

Draw an 8 pointed star/compass on the blank, making sure 2 points run up and down the spine getting the 2 jig clip holes inside the star/compass shape.

String a piece of wire through 2 beads and thread through the holes you just poked and twist.

DRESSING UP YOUR CRABAPILLAR There are a few ways to dress up your new creation. The easiest is to just pick a beer can already painted in your preferred colours. However, when this is not enough, holographic decal adheres to the aluminium very well and then a coat of clear acrylic nail polish to seal. You can also paint with nail polish, which

works very well. I rummage through the bargain bins, and I find some really cool colours. Wire and beads are a must for the eyes. It really set these lures off and it’s just so easy to do. Use a little bit larger than usual eyes and don’t tighten the wire too much and the realism is undeniable. Good luck on making your DIY Hardbody Jig Clip Crabapillar.

VIDEO

For more information go to www.milkshakesuds.com for extra tips and other beer can lure designs.

Once finished, cut out the star shape. You should start to have the beginning shape of the Crabapillar.

Take your hammer and nail, 5mm back from the tie eye hole on the blank, and tap a hole evenly on either side of the spine.

Slip through the jig hook on the tail of your blank and swing the other end around poking the tie eye up and through. You should hear a little click. If not, you may have poked the hole to big, so try again.

Using the scissors cut up the star points into bendable little crab legs. Don’t forget to do the nose and tail for antennae and a stinger.

And there you have it – you’re ready to take it out on the water! Use some holographic decal or nail polish to dress it up or just go plain. Sling a treble or assist hook underneath to increase your chances. NOVEMBER 2018

Cooking

Crispy skin salmon with Asian slaw and salsa SYDNEY

Andrew Humphries

METHOD For the Asian salad finely slice and prepare the ingredients. I use a mandolin

to slice the cabbage, cucumber, onion, and to julienne the carrot I also use the mandolin but with a julienne blade attachment. If you don’t have mandolin or v-slicer it is possible to cut everything with a knife. With the herbs pick

the mint and tear into smaller pieces if they are large leaves. Toss all ingredients in a bowl and set aside. If you like, you can also slice the left over mango and toss it through the salad as well. The nuoc cham dressing

is for the salad and is quite a simple and quick dressing to make. Mix all ingredients in a jug and set aside to dress the salad later. For the mango salsa, mix all ingredients in a bowl and season, then set aside to serve

with the salmon. To cook the salmon heat pan or barbeque plate to medium heat. Salt the skin side of the fish and place in lightly oiled pan and cook for 3-4 mins, checking to see if the heat needs to be adjusted.

Once you have a nice golden colour and crispy skins, turn the fillets and reduce heat and cook for another 4mins, or until it is cooked to your liking. Dress salad and serve on a plate with the salmon and salsa to finish off.

INGREDIENTS 4x150g salmon fillets pin boned skin on Asian slaw- ¼ red cabbage finely sliced ¼ green cabbage finely sliced ½ red capsicum finely sliced 1 carrot julienned ½ red onion finely sliced 1 Lebanese cucumber finely sliced ¾ punnets cherry tomatoes quartered 3/4 bunch coriander washed and roughly cut into 1.5cm lengths ½ bunch mint Nuoc cham dressing ingredients ¼ cup water ¼ cup fish sauce 2tblspoon lime juice 2tblspoon sugar 2tblspoons rice wine vinegar 1 chilli finely diced 1 coriander root finely chopped

6 72

Mango salsa ingredients ½ mango diced ¼ red onion finely diced ½ red chilli finely diced 5 stems coriander finely chopped roots and leaves ½ lime juiced salt to taste

The nuoc cham dressing made up ready to dress the salad.

Portioned salmon fillets ready to be seasoned and cooked.

NOVEMBER 2018

The prepared salad ingredients from left around the plate: fresh picked mint, cherry tomatoes, coriander, carrot, onion, red cabbage, green cabbage, cucumber and capsicum in the centre. On the side is the mandolin used to finely slice them.

Mango salsa components from left to right: fresh lime for juicing, onion diced, chilli diced, coriander and the mango diced.

Nice golden crispy skin salmon fillets. At this stage I reduce the heat to allow the salmon to cook through without burning the flesh side.

All the salad ingredients tossed together in the mixing bowl.

Seasoned and mixed delicious mango salsa.

The tasty finished product. I love the crisp crunchy salad with the salmon.

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Nelson slows down claim victory

STORM

Improving his 2017 BASS Pro event result on this massive North Coast arena by a place, NSW’s Mike Nelson fished a black jig in deeper water to emphatically claim victory in the Bassman Spinnerbaits round of the Rapala BASS Pro Series. With his weights improving every session, he was always going to be hard to beat, with top-ranked Basser and river rat Kris Hikson the only angler to get within 4kg of Nelson’s weight. Nelson posted a weight of 3.26kg for session one, 4.47kg for session two, and 4.56kg for session three. Fishing a beetle-spin rigged Z-Man Slim Swimz in the first session, Nelson targeted shallow, active fish on structure, but saw bigger fish deeper that weren’t receptive to the reaction presentation. That’s when he stepped it up a gear and fished a black Pro’s Factory Motion jig in black (with a Gulp Crabby trailer) deep and slow to extract a string of better quality fish. “Those deeper fish were definitely not rising to grab a reaction bait, so I did what I had to do to get them in the boat,” Nelson said. And from that point, he never looked back.

Mike Nelson secured his maiden ABT BASS Pro win fishing jigs slowly in deeper structure.

Pros Factory Motion Jig

15-25‘

Pitch jig close to submerged structure Short hop to keep on the bottom

Allow to jig to sit on bottom for up to 30 seconds – gently shake the rod tip to make skirt ‘wae’

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 74

NOVEMBER 2018

Scan the QR code to see how Mike Nelson works jigs in deep water.

Scan the QR code to see Jason martin’s winning interview.

Targeting bass from 15-25ft deep in both the South Passage and in the Coldstream River, Nelson emphasised that the speed he needed to fish these baits was slow – dead slow. “You’d sink down the lure and literally just shake the line. Sometimes it’d take the fish up to 30 seconds to eat it after you felt the first tap. It really was a game of patience,” Nelson said. He fished the jig on a 13 Fishing OMEN baitcast

rod paired with a 13 Fishing Inception reel that was spooled with 10lb Sunline Braid and 12lb Gamma leader. “That leader is amazing in tight structure. It really cops a beating,” Mike continued, “it helped me land plenty of fish in nasty situations.” Indeed, you can watch the video of Nelson’s final session highlights on the QR Code supplied hereby. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to slow-fish a jig, then Mike’s technique is a must-watch.

Hickson runs and guns into second place

Almost always lurking somewhere in the top of the ladder is Kris Hickson, and he kept true to form this time round with a second place finish.

As is typical for the Taree BREAM and BASS angler, when asked about his tournament, it was a case of a lot of running and gunning and of using half the lures in his box. Kris Hickson is a fast, junk fishing extraordinaire, and he seems to have a sixth sense about where to stop and what to throw. He couldn’t match Mike Nelson’s deep structure jig fishing ability – even with a kicker fish of over 1.5kg in the first session. Kris managed bags of 3.63kg in session one, 3.33kg in session two, and 3.52kg in session three. When asked to refine the boatload of tackle to a couple of techniques, Hickson settled on ZMan Finesse FrogZ, 2.5” Slim SwimZ by the same manufacturer, and a Duel Moe-B hard bait.

“Early each morning, I’d fish those 2.5” ZMan FrogZ on a 2/0 ChinlockZ hook and get some topwater action. There’s nothing like a topwater bite first thing in the morning and it added a few fish to the well,” Hickson said. “I fished the stretch between Ulmarra and Maclean each day and I reckon I hit every single boat, wharf and good looking bit of bank there,” Kris continued. Kris’ kicker fish in session one (the second biggest of the event at 1.54kg) ate a Duel Moe-B fished in a drain. He also pulled a couple of fish off the ferry cables

BASS PR O at Lawrence with a Samaki forktailed Vibelicious in whitebait colour. In one of the sessions, he filled his bag from a grassy bank with the bloodworm coloured Slim SwimZ. His favourite tool for the tournament was a prototype TD Zero rod (6’9”, 2-5kg) matched with a 2500 sized LT Daiwa, 8lb J-Braid Grand and 8lb J-Thread leader. Hickson did his reputation as an adaptable Basser no damage at all on the weekend, maintaining his healthy lead of the Bass Cat BASS Pro Rankings. He’s ranked number one in the country!

Martin tops non-boater field Jason Martin is another Manning River river rat who excels in casting plastics at Australian bass. Paired with Kris Hickson on the first day, there was every chance that the pair would do some damage. The prediction came true-Jason managed some impressive limits, scoring bags of 3.63kg in session one, 3.33kg for session two, and 1.79kg for session three. Martin’s gear was a Daiwa TD Sol rod teamed with a Daiwa Exceler reel spooled with 8lb Daiwa J-Braid and 8lb fluorocarbon leader. He fished an assortment of plastics on 1/8oz jigheads. Emphasising Martin’s river prowess is the fact that he’s won both of the river rounds in 2018 at the back of the boat. He took out the first BASS Pro event of the season on the Hawkesbury River earlier in the season. Martin’s most tense moment for the event? Well, he’s pretty laid back,

GARMIN BIG BASS

Jason Martin was stoked to grab another river round win. so we think nothing fazes him, but only having a single bass in the livewell at 2pm in Session 2 would have raised the heart rate a little.

Fast forward 20 minutes and it proved that there was little to worry about, with the bag filled by 2:20pm on a 200m stretch of

grassy bank. You can watch Martin’s Winner’s Interview by scanning the QR code hereby.

BOATER RESULTS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg)

Prize

Mike Nelson 12/12 12.29kg $2,500 Kristoffer Hickson 12/12 10.52kg $1,350 Craig Simmons 10/12 8.24kg $900 + $250 Evinrude Bonus Mark Lennox 11/12 7.73kg 7.73kg $800 Troy Hardaker 9/12 7.66kg $700 Joseph Urquhart 11/12 7.52kg $600 Adrian Melchior 11/12 7.44kg Rick Gough 11/12 7.21kg Keeghan Painter 9/12 6.80kg Terry Allwood 9/12 6.67kg For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Local Anthony Duff took out the $500 Garmin Big Bass, with his 1.67kg brute. It ate a ZipBait Skinny Pop in Aussie Prawn colour that he fished on a Pagotto custom rod made from a St Croix blank, matched to a Daiwa 2500 Certate Custom reel, 6lb Sunline Super PE and Sunline 10lb mono leader.

WINNING TACKLE Rod: Duffrods 3-5kg rod Reel: Daiwa Battler 2500 reel Line: Unitika 8lb braid Leader: FC Rock 8lb leader Lure: Yamba Pro Prawn blade

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg)

Prize

Jason Martin 10/12 8.75kg Prize Pack Peter Morgan 10/12 8.28kg Prize Pack Tom Deer 11/12 8.10kg Prize Pack Andrew Lollback 8/10 7.73kg Prize Pack Damien Krantz 11/12 7.50kg Prize Pack Matthew Cameron 11/12 7.24kg Prize Pack Shane Matthews 11/12 7.10kg Prize Pack Brendan Pieschel 9/12 6.43kg Prize Pack Aaran Kiloh 8/12 6.41kg Prize Pack Trent Blake 8/12 5.90kg Prize Pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au NOVEMBER 2018

Falkenhagen forks out A-game

STORM

Shaun Falkenhagen has taken out the 2018 Rapala Bass Pro Grand Final on Lake Somerset with an overall bag of 12/12 at 14.97kg, walking away with a cheque for $10,000. Shaun struggled in the first session early on, spending an hour or so sounding around looking for a good concentration of fish. Once he found the fish he caught his limit quite quickly and weighed them in as soon as the weigh-in window opened. He weighed in a combined limit with Jim Hickson of 4.46kg, which had them sitting in second place to Matt Johnson and Nick price with a bag limit of 7.08kg. Session two was very kind to Shaun and Jim, and saw them catching their limit of four fish for the session, with a total weight of 6.16kg, bumping them into first place for the second session. The third session on the Sunday was Shaun’s most productive day catching, where he caught seven fish. The weight was down from day one’s bags, however Shaun and his day two

Shaun Falkenhagen had his family there to support him.

Shaun Falkenhagen was all smiles with his Grand Final victory at Lake Somerset.

non-boater Mitchell Rose achieved a limit of 4.35kg, which was enough to secure victory in the 2018 Rapala Bass Pro Grand Final. Shaun was fishing a bay with a depth of 40-50ft. His technique would vary with the fishes’ mood. If they were sitting on the bottom he would sink his lure to the bottom and give it a few twitches and it would get eaten fairly quickly. But if the fish were suspended he would have to count his lure down to roughly where he could see them sitting on his depth sounder. With the suspended fish he would slow roll his lure through the school, often getting a few taps. Once he got these taps he would speed his retrieve up, triggering the fish to eat his lure properly. His go-to lure was a Slider Grub in the John Deer colour with a 5/8oz jighead fished on a 702 Edge Rod with a Daiwa Certate reel.

BOATER RESULTS Place Angler

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 76

NOVEMBER 2018

Scan the QR code to see the day 1 highlights.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg)

Prize

Shaun Falkenhagen 12/12 14.97kg $10,000 Matt Johnson 9/12 12.74kg Miller Rod Stephen Kanowski 9/12 12.04kg Miller Rod + $1,100 (Big Bass) Kristoffer Hickson 9/12 9.87kg Prize Pack Wally Fahey 6/12 9.67kg Prize Pack Graham Ford 7/12 7.89kg Jordan Stoddart 12/12 7.39kg Tim Morgan 7/12 7.38kg Kris Banks 8/12 6.27kg Joseph Urquhart 8/12 6.27kg For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Johnson takes second Howe good Matt Johnson came in second with 9/12 fish for 12.74kg. Matt weighed the biggest bag for the tournament in session one with four bass tipping the scales at 7.08kg. He and his non-boater left for the second session very chuffed with themselves. Unfortunately, that was the best bag Matt could put together for the tournament. The second session for Matt was a grind, with him and his non-boater only bringing two bass to the scales for 2.3kg. Day two was quite tough as well, only yielding three bass, however it was enough to secure second place. Matt was fishing the same areas as Shaun on flats with depths varying between 40-50 feet. The fish were there for Matt, however he struggled to convert many of the bites.

Matt Johnson fished the same areas as Falkenhagen and came in second place.

John Deere Slider

Jighead retrieve

Spoon retrieve Snap

40-50 feet

Snap

Warren Howe had something of a Stephen Bradbury tournament experience. He got his Grand Final entry via count back from declined non-boater entries and ended up taking out the 2018 Rapala Bass Pro Grand Final in the Non-Boater division, bringing in 10/12 fish for at total bag of 13.99kg. He was secure in his victory with second place getter Jim Hickson bagging 8/12 fish for 10.62kg. Warren fished day one with Kris Hickson and day two with Steve Kanowski. His first session only saw him weighing two legal bass. His second second and third session were a lot better, as he was able to secure a limit in each. Warren was changing between throwing a Slider on a 5/8oz jighead and a G2 Gang Banger Spoon. Throwing them on a Daiwa Steez 702 Thunderstorm rod and a Daiwa 2508 Steez spin reel, he was able to fish the Sliders with ease. First and second places were both awarded fantastic prize packs. Howe and Hickson took home an awesome Rapala product prize pack each. There is enough tackle in each pack to see them through the entire 2019 BASS Pro season, valued at approximately $4,000!

Killer cracks the Big Bass Stephen ‘Killer’ Kanowski took out Big BASS, bringing in a fish in session two that weighed in at 2.74kg. Steve located an active school of fish in the second session, and catching a nice fish straight away had him quite confident in the flat he was fishing. Only a couple of casts later he hooked the fish and soon realised it was much bigger than he first expected. This fish was the biggest bass for that session and held that position for the rest of the tournament, securing the big bass prize

BASS PR O GF

Warren Howe took out first place for the Non-Boaters.

www.fishin.com.au TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

ZX BLADES ZMAN GRUBZ CRANKA CRABS

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JACKALL CHUBBY

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of $1100. This healthy 2.74kg fish was caught slow rolling a plum chartreuse Slider with a gold 5/8oz Smak jighead. JUNIORS The Grand Final Juniors (under 18-yearolds) got a special mention at the presentation, with Mitchell Rose and Angus Meyndershagen both finishing in the top ten non-boaters. In addition to their non-boater prize packs the pair each took home a special Junior Anglers Prize – a big thanks to Rapala and Manning River Marine for looking after our tournament’s junior anglers.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg)

Prize

Warren Howe 10/12 13.99kg Prize Pack James Hickson 8/12 10.62kg Prize Pack Mark Parriott 12/12 9.52kg Tonic Sunglasses + Prize Pack Nick Price 6/12 9.38kg Hobie Sunglasses + Prize Pack Angus Meyndershagen 8/12 9.10kg Hobie Sunglasses + Prize Pack Raffi Demirjian 5/12 7.72kg Samaki Rod + Prize Pack John Francis 6/12 7.06kg Prize Pack Dylan Byron 9/12 7.03kg Prize Pack James Browning 8/12 6.76kg Prize Pack Mitchell Rose 6/12 5.28kg Prize Pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Scan the QR code to see the day 2 highlights.

NOVEMBER 2018

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East Coast Bream Series Round 4 Round four of the East Coast Bream Series (sponsored by Shimano) was held on the Central coast of NSW at Lake Macquarie. Being one of the largest saltwater lagoons in the Southern

come lunchtime. The 7:00am start time saw the field split off in various directions as all anglers had their own plan for the day. With Lake Macquarie being such a vast expanse of

in Lake Macquarie, if you know where to find them. It was a tight race for first place with just 60g separating the top two teams. In first place was team Just Flicking Aaron Watson and Daniel Hayes bringing to the scales five fish for a total bag of 4.37kg. The guys said that they did pre-fish the lake to find out what lures were working, read the weather conditions for the day and found the

edges where they believed the fish would be hiding. Team Flicking credited their win to using the black Pro Lures and Jackall Chubbies on any edges where there was a break, the guys were using a new limited edition rod by LOX, the Ambassador 1-2kg 7ft6â&#x20AC;? that was on loan to them from Vivia Tackle for the weekend. This was coupled with a Ci4 and 3lb straight through fluoro. Team Just Flicking

Team Just Flicking Aaron Watson and Daniel Hayes won the competition with a total weight of 4.37kg. Hemisphere, and twice as large as Sydney Harbour, gave our teams plenty of options. This round saw just under 40 teams take part, all setting off from Wangi caravan park and seeking out a big bag of five bream. Some teams were hoping for a bag big enough to secure them a spot in the grand final held in late October on Sydney Harbour. The morning of the competition the teams were presented with an overcast sky and a light breeze. The forecast for the day was to remain overcast with breeze building to around 25 knots

water, it was not easy to locate many of the competitors during the session. But, when found anglers were reporting good catches with most teams having at least one fish onboard by 9:00am. Teams started filtering back at 12:30pm to make sure they did not miss the 1:00pm deadline, and as the teams started to appear the stories started rolling in. Some teams claimed to catch every species but bream, while other teams were throwing back 30cm bream trying to upgrade. The scales reflected the fortunes of the field, proving that big bags can be caught

Codie Stewart and Daniel Scott narrowly missed out on first place by 60g.

Team Grabar claimed third place with a bag weight of 3.42kg. walked away from the event with $1900 for their win, also securing a spot in the grand final. In second place was team Abu Garcia/Tempt Industries, the guys missed out on first place by only 60g. Codie and Daniel said the pre-fish helped them locate a few areas where the fish were and targeting structure of any description on comp day was the plan. They combined this with throwing Gulp Crabbies (camo) on either 1/24 or 1/32oz jigheads and that

helped them secure their bag early, and even allowed them to upgrade all five of their fish leaving them with a finishing weight of 4.31kg. For their effort they walked away with $1100. In third place was team Grabar, who weighed in five fish for 3.42kg. Jason and Greg had their bag early using the Cranka Crabs on boat hulls. Once the bite stopped there they then moved to Swansea Channel, throwing shallow hardbodies to upgrade their fish, which secured them the third place.

EAST COAST BREAM SERIES RESULTS Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

Team Name Just Flicking Abu Garcia/Temp Industries Grabar Breamski B&F Breaming ZMan Okuma Tosland Building Yamaha Motor Australia Abu Garcia/Just 4 show

Competitor 1 Aaron Watson Codie Stewart Jason Graham Steve Nedeski Matt Baddage Gary Brown Tony Khouri Christian Wardini

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

Competitor 2 Daniel Hayes Daniel Scott Ben Sebastion Ian Phillips Rod Ford David Tosland Dennis Mageropoulos Frank Raneri

Total Weight (kg) 4.37 4.31 3.42 3.31 3.01 2.74 2.55 2.44

Brought to you by

2018

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

3-4 Nov

Round 8 Hobie Kayak Bream Series Lake Macquarie

www.hobiefishing.com.au

9-11 Nov

Berkley Urunga Sport Fishing Flathead Urunga Sailing Club

www.urungasportfishing.com.au

19 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 1 Kinchant Dam (evening event)

abt.org.au

20 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 2 Teemburra Dam (evening event)

abt.org.au

21 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 3 Peter Faust (Night Championship)

abt.org.au

23-24 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 4 Peter Faust (evening event)

abt.org.au

30 Nov-2 Dec

ABT BREAM Series Grand Final Marlo

abt.org.au

1-2 Dec

Cod Classic and Wilson Junior Cod Classic Lake Mulwala and Murray River

www.codclassic.com.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. NOVEMBER 2018

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS FILMS ABOUT FISH

SHARK TALE GONE FISHIN THE MEG BIG FISH THE PERFECT STORM BAIT SHOP ONDINE DEEP BLUE SEA LIFE OF PI

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

SHARKNADO ALAMO BAY JAWS FINDING NEMO PIRANHA SOUL SURFER LITTLE MERMAID A FISH CALLED WANDA ANDRE

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack. SEND ENTRIES TO: NSW Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

NSW NOVEMBER 2018

Phone (day):

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

The ‘Real Fish Oita’ is an incredible, award winning squid jig manufactured in Europe by leading Croatian company - DTD. Taking out the coveted ‘best new product’ in its class at the EFTTEX 2015 Expo in Warsaw, this wonderful range is now available in Australia through Dogtooth Distribution. The product imitates real fish species. This coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensures great balance and results in superior catching ability. With the unique ‘fish parasite’ feature, aimed at luring predators in for an ‘easy kill’, these truly unique jigs are set to explode into the Australian market. FEATURES - Double weight system with inner weight designed to produce sound while squid jig is in action. COLOURS - 7 different designs representing popular fish species. ADDITIONAL - Luminous body, fish parasite, great balance, sound effect, quality stainless steel hooks SIZES - 5 Sizes available www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Faye Hughes from Uralla, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition! Monthly winners receive a sponsor prize. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winners for September are R Collins of Redhead, J Alvarez of Liverpool and J Martin of Wingham, who won a AccuMat fish measuring mat valued at $99. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Turner of Kindumber, J Coates of Gwandalan, R Jones of Werris Creek, H Pallett of Edgecliff, D Burgess of Elermore Vale, T Whiting of Berowra Heights, B Mannering of Blue Haven, A Sinclair of Lalor Park, R Kresevic of Canley Vale, B Corse of Bathurst, W Short of Hamlyn Terrace, R Durie of Holt, D Chandler of Theodore, R Hodges of Ballina, G Smith of Werris Creek, J Gowan of Werombi, B Wright of Lake Cathie, K Burge of Salamanda Bay, Z Mehmet of Ingleburn,

R Todd of Wahronga, T Griffin of Bathurst, M Beney of Harrington Waters, G Smith of Weston, L Jeffs of Gateshead, J Wicks of Cootamundra, M Klumper of Nambucca Heads, E Murta of Nicholls , H Morrison of Forbes, S McSwan of Barrington, S Matthews of Edgeworth, R Moore of Wingham, S Cook of Seven Hills, B Robley of Noraville. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

GUESS THE FISH?

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for September were: 8, 16, 18, 25, 29, 33, 39, 42, 47, 52, 76, 91, 101, 11, 118. – NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2018

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Yellowfin Bream

The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for September were: C Roberts of North Ryde, G Waugh of Greystanes, P Bak of Monash, B Jordan of Botany, B Whyte of Myers Flat, S Banner of Buff Point, K Thompson of Ermington, D

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This section in NSW Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching. 82

NOVEMBER 2018

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory SYDNEY

BAIT & TACKLE

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New and old techniques dominate 2018 Classic There is always something to learn from talking to the winners of the Gold Coast Sportfishing Club’s Flathead Classic. This year’s tournament winner was decided by a single fish, but what is interesting is the variation in techniques.

catch a fish to take home a new boat. It has grown into a massive event that has close to 700 anglers fishing and enjoying the amazing flathead fishing that the Gold Coast offers. WINNERS I don’t know how he does

Adam Barnes used traditional techniques and hard work to claim second place. The weather couldn’t have been kinder to the competitors during the three-day event. It’s always fantastic to see the good weather as not every team is competing for the win. Many teams take the competiveness out of it and see it as a chance to get on the water with the kids or mates and learn more about the art of catching flathead. The best thing about the event is that over $300,000 in prizes were given away, including 3 boat and motor packages – any entrant can win, you don’t have to even

it but Danny Sands is the club president and fishes the event with his brother George and Uncle Kevin. Kevin Sands is from Tasmania and travels up to fish the event with Team Sands every year. This is impressive enough, but Kevin is 77 years old and still manages to hold his own against competitors 50 years his junior. Danny fishes all day and gets to the comp site to manage the massive event with his dedicated committee that do an amazing job. Danny won the event three years ago but this year belonged to his brother George.

This fish was landed by working small plastics in the shallows. 84

NOVEMBER 2018

George and the rest of Team Sands targeted shallow water between Jumpinpin and Tipplers Passage. That certainly isn’t anything new but how the fish were targeted is. After experimenting with large 9” soft plastics in the shallows, similar to the technique made popular by Chris Metcalfe, George found that the technique had a very poor hook-up ratio. George’s solution was to replace the big plastic with barramundi style lures and the hook-up ratio improved greatly. The preferred lures were 130-150mm long and either suspending or slowly floating to the surface. George sourced some Japanese lures from Tackle House. Even the most obsessed tackle junkie wouldn’t know these lures too well but basically, they are long and thin with a typical small bib found in shallow running barramundi lures. The small bib allows these lures to roll and dance when twitched, which is what stirs up the barra and apparently the flathead as well. George’s pick for colour is white with a green or chartreuse back. These massive lures were thrown with standard flathead spin gear. George prefers to stick to 4lb mainline with a 14lb leader. Leader that is a hard fluorocarbon such as Rock FC worked best because it minimised the line wrapping the lure when being twitched. George’s tip for flathead anglers is to find stingrays working the flats. George mentioned that when he sees stingrays pumping and working up the sand and mud, the flathead are also up on the flats feeding. SECOND Coming in second behind George Sands was Adam Barnes. Adam has been fishing the Classic for the past 5 years and works incredibly hard on his flathead fishing. Adam fishes in a two-man team with Cory McLachlan. Adam and Cory are more traditional, throwing soft plastics in shallow water. Adam pre-fished the Classic for two months leading up to the event. He worked hard to determine the flow of water, colour of the water and direction of the current to determine when the flathead will feed in a particular area. For Adam, it was all about reading the water and having

George Sands landed some massive flathead in the shallows on 150mm hardbody lures. confidence in the areas he fished. Adam and Cory also fished between Jumpinpin and Tippler’s Passage but focused their efforts on weed edges. Casting soft plastics in the shallows and working out the retrieve that the flathead respond to was the secret. Adam was using a slow retrieve that had the plastic swimming just a few inches off the bottom before allowing it to sink again. The trick for Adam was using small jerks and nothing erratic. Preferred plastics were the ZMan 3” minnows as well as shrimp imitations of a similar size. Adam mixed his colours up a little – with white and pink being one that performed well but so did root beer so a fair mix. Adam used a little S Factor scent as well and believes that assists unscented plastics to entice a bite. Adam also uses threadline spinning tackle but unlike George who uses very light braid, Adam fishes with up

to 20lb main line and leaders up to 20lb. Adam mentioned that modern PE braided line is as thin as the old 6lb braid but if he happens to hook up to a jewie he can still land it on the flathead gear. Because Adam and Cory only fish the shallows, the heaviest jighead they use is 3/8oz and often use a 1/4oz head. Adam’s tip for flathead anglers is to learn to read the flow of the water over the shallows. Adam contributes his success to understanding how the flow effects the feeding of the flathead. Even if they went an hour without a bite, Adam remained confident that the fish would move up and start feeding as the water flow and colour improved. This was often rewarded with multiple 80cm+ fish in a short period of time. Last year’s event saw first place go to deep jigging techniques while 2016 was dominated by shallow water trolling and massive plastics

worked in ankle deep water. It goes to show that there is no right or wrong way to catch flathead. Finding the fish is one thing but working out how to catch them is another all together. Adam would often fish areas where he would see other anglers worked over, only to find that the lures, colours and techniques he used would catch fish where other anglers would fail. This hit home while talking to George Sands who fished the same area as our team did. Day one had team QFM neck and neck with Team Sands and myself a good distance in front of George for points. But the fishing got tough and on day two and three I couldn’t buy a fish while George’s skill and techniques piled on the points. Next year will probably see another technique take out the win but as Adam and Cory proved this year, there is no substitute for proven techniques matched with good old fashioned hard work.

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP TEN FEMALE

TOP TEN SENIORS

TOP TEN JUNIORS

1 Team Viper Strike 2 Team Sands 3 Team On Strike 4 The Mad Hueys Heritage 5 Dead Fishy 6 Zerek Lures 7 No Fish 8 Dawson Swainskis 9 McArthy 10 WET DREAMZ

1 Melinda Henderson 2 Kellie Reid 3 Megan Savas 4 Nicky Young 5 Kimberly Curtis-Pozar 6 Brooke Frecklington 7 Rocky Edwards 8 Emily Curr 9 Bec Clark 10 Jessica Rayner

1 George Sands 2 Adam Barnes 3 Michael Angus 4 Cory McLachlan 5 Christian Cross 6 Jason Swain 7 Michael Green 8 Brad Job 9 Stuart Grice 10 Matt Kair

1 Hayden Swain 2 Drayzen Allen 3 Cooper Ferris 4 Reuben White 5 Brock McDonald 6 Dominic Cerasa 7 Keiran Harris 8 Hayden Limpus 9 Tanner Trotter 10 Jaimee Horner

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40 Princes Highway Albion Park P: (02) 4256 6135 E: pauline@hitechmarine.com.au W: www.hitechmarine.com.au

4 Whyalla Street Fyshwick P: (02) 6280 0555 E: h2omarinecanberra@gmail.com W: www.h20marine.com.au

20 Dell Road West Gosford P: (02) 4324 4300 E: troy@insincmarine.com.au W: www.insincmarine.com.au

36 Bourke Street Dubbo P: (02) 6882 2853 E: bbeandel@bigpond.net.au W: www.dubbomarine.com.au

160 North Street Grafton P: (02) 6643 1199 E: sales@discomarine.com.au W: www.discomarine.com.au

185 Hastings River Drive Port Macquarie P: (02) 6583 5511 E: sales@hastingsmarine.com.au W: www.hastingsmarine.com.au

3/41 Leighton Place Hornsby P: (02) 9482 2638 E: sales@shannonoutboards.com.au W: www.shannonoutboards.com.au

44 Curtis Road McGraths Hill P: (02) 4577 3522 E: sales@trmarine.com.au W: www.trmarine.com.au

11 Binney Road Kingspark P: (02) 9676 1400 E: info@watersportmarine.com.au W: www.watersportsmarine.com.au

4/133 Coreen Avenue Penrith P: (02) 4731 6250 E: sales@penrithmarine.com.au W: www.penrithmarine.com.au

13 Victoria Street Taree P: (02) 6552 2333 E: jim@manningrivermarine.com.au W: www.mercurydealertaree.com

32 Machinery Drive Tweed Heads South P: (07) 5524 8877 E: admin@tweedcoastmarine.com.au W: www.tweedcoastmarine.com.au

23 Melbourne Street East Maitland P: (02) 4933 3284 E: sales@mpm.net.au W: www.maitlandpm.com.au

804 Pacific Highway Marks Point P: (02) 4945 2152 E: enquiries@fishermanswarehouse.com.au W: www.fishermanswarehouse.com.au

2018 2018 2018 Local Time

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY(FORT (FORT DENISON) NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY DENISON) – –NEW WALES LAT 33° 52’ LONG 151°SOUTH 13’ JANUARY SEPTEMBER JANUARY Time Time m

LAT 33° LONG 151° LAT 33° 52’52’ of LONG 151° 13’13’ Times and Heights High and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY OCTOBER NOVEMBER MARCH FEBRUARY m Time Time m Time m Time m

Time m m Time m m Time Time 0213 0.53 0141 0.34 0812 1.96 0846 1.72 0045 1.23 0540 0.43 0213 0.53 0141 0.34 1451 0.19 1525 0.39 0636 0.59 1203 1.49 0812 1.96 0846 1.72 TU MO 2116 1.33 2049 1.48 TUSU 1312 1.47 1813 0.54 1451 0.19 1525 0.39 MOSA 19551.33 0.59 2116 2049 1.48 0233 0.32 0250 0.51 0904 2.04 0922 1.75 0145 1.14 0015 1.36 0233 0.32 0250 0.51 1544 0.12 WE 1559 0.37 0729 0.66 0625 0.49 0904 2.04 0922 1.75 TU 2144 1.50WE 2152 1.35 1410 1.43 1255 1.50 1544 0.12 1559 0.37 MO TUSU 21041.35 0.61 19151.50 0.56 2144 2152 0326 0.32 0327 0.50 0956 2.07 0958 1.76 0256 1.10 0115 1.27 0326 0.32 0327 0.50 1636 0.09 1633 0.35 0718 0.54 0831 0.70 0956 2.07 0958 1.76 WE TH 2238 1.50 THTU 2229 1.36 1355 1.51 1515 1.41 1636 0.09 1633 0.35 MO WE 22111.36 0.59 20301.50 0.56 2238 2229 0419 0.34 0404 0.50 1047 2.05 1033 1.75 0408 1.12 0228 1.21 0419 0.34 0404 0.50 1728 0.12 1708 0.36 0940 0.69 0823 0.56 1047 2.05 1033 1.75 TH FR 2331 1.48 FR 2305 1.36 1618 1.44 1502 1.56 1728 0.12 1708 0.36 WE THTU 23081.36 0.54 21501.48 0.50 2331 2305 0514 0.38 0444 0.51 1139 1.97 1109 1.72 0508 1.18 0348 1.22 0514 0.38 0444 0.51 1818 0.18 1743 0.37 1043 0.65 0935 0.54 1139 1.97 1109 1.72 FR SA 2345 1.37 1713 1.48 16120.18 1.64 SATH 1818 1743 0.37 WE FR 23541.37 0.48 2300 0.39 2345 0025 1.46 0524 0.53 0609 0.45 1146 1.68 0555 1.25 0501 1.28 0025 1.46 0524 0.53 1230 1.84 SU 1819 0.39 1134 0.59 1044 0.48 0609 0.45 1146 1.68 SA 1909 0.27SUFR 17590.39 1.54 1715 1.75 1230 1.84 1819 SATH 1909 0.27 0120 1.44 0026 1.38 0706 0.52 0608 0.56 0000 0.28 0034 0.42 0120 1.44 0026 1.38 1321 1.69 MO 1226 1.61 0634 1.32 0601 1.37 0706 0.52 0608 0.56 SU 1858 0.42 2000 0.36MOSA 1219 0.52 1145 0.39 1321 1.69 1226 1.61 SUFR 18390.42 1.59 18140.36 1.85 1858 2000 0215 1.42 0111 1.39 0806 0.60 0658 0.60 0052 0.18 0108 0.37 0215 1.42 0111 1.39 1415 1.53 1310 1.53 0655 1.46 0710 1.39 0806 0.60 0658 0.60 MO TU 2049 0.45 TUSU 1941 0.45 1241 0.31 1259 0.46 1415 1.53 1310 1.53 MOSA 19060.45 1.92 19150.45 1.63 2049 1941 0201 1.41 0313 1.42 0141 0.11 0141 0.33 0754 0.63 0913 0.66 0201 1.41 0313 1.42 1400 1.45 1513 1.39 WE 0744 1.55 0744 1.45 0754 0.63 0913 0.66 TU 1334 0.25 1336 0.41 2029 0.48 2140 0.52WE 1400 1.45 1513 1.39 MO TUSU 19570.52 1.94 19510.48 1.65 2029 2140 0411 1.43 0257 1.44 0226 0.10 0212 0.30 1023 0.68 0900 0.64 0411 1.43 0257 1.44 1615 1.29 1501 1.37 0831 1.61 0817 1.51 1023 0.68 0900 0.64 WE TH 1427 0.22 1414 0.37 2124 0.50 2230 0.56 THTU 1615 1.29 1501 1.37 MO WE 20450.56 1.90 20270.50 1.64 2124 2230 0508 1.47 0358 1.51 0309 0.12 0243 0.30 1133 0.67 1016 0.61 0508 1.47 0358 1.51 0918 1.64 0851 1.56 1720 1.23 1615 1.32 1133 0.67 1016 0.61 TH FR 1517 0.23 1452 0.35 2320 0.58 FR 2225 0.50 1720 1.23 1615 1.32 WE THTU 21330.58 1.80 21040.50 1.61 2320 2225 0600 1.52 0501 1.60 0351 0.19 0315 0.31 1237 0.62 1133 0.53 0600 1.52 0501 1.60 1003 1.65 0928 1.60 1820 1.22 1731 1.32 1237 0.62 1133 0.53 FR SA 16081.22 0.28 SATH 1534 0.35 2329 0.47 1820 1731 1.32 WE FR 2220 1.67 21430.47 1.56 2329 0009 0.58 0603 1.71 0432 0.28 0350 0.34 0647 1.57 1244 0.42 0009 0.58 0603 1.71 1049 1.62 1007 1.62 1329 0.56 SU 1841 1.35 0647 1.57 1244 0.42 SA 1700 0.36 16181.35 0.36 1913 1.24SUFR 1329 0.56 1841 SATH 23061.24 1.51 2225 1.49 1913 0053 0.56 0029 0.43 0512 0.39 0427 0.39 0730 1.63 0702 1.83 0053 0.56 0029 0.43 1134 1.58 1048 1.63 1411 0.49 MO 1345 0.29 0730 1.63 0702 1.83 SU 1754 0.45 1707 0.40 1958 1.27MOSA 1943 1.41 1411 0.49 1345 0.29 SUFR 23541.27 1.36 23121.41 1.40 1958 1943 0134 0.55 0127 0.38 0552 0.50 0509 0.45 0810 1.68 0758 1.94 0134 0.55 0127 0.38 1221 1.53 1135 1.61 1449 0.44 1440 0.19 0810 1.68 0758 1.94 MO TU 1851 0.53 1802 0.44 2038 1.30 TUSU 2038 1.47 1449 0.44 1440 0.19 MOSA 2038 1.30 2038 1.47 0221 0.33 0851 2.01 0221 0.33 1530 0.12 0851 2.01 WE 2130 1.52 0.12 WE 1530 2130 1.52

Time m m Time m m Time Time 0311 0.46 0315 0.30 0943 2.04 0936 1.75 0211 1.14 0005 1.30 0311 0.46 0315 0.30 1618 0.11 FR 1605 0.34 0740 0.71 0558 0.52 0943 2.04 0936 1.75 TH 2203 1.44 2220 1.54FRTU 1415 1.44 1229 1.59 1618 0.11 1605 0.34 MO TH 21171.44 0.59 19071.54 0.47 2203 2220 0348 0.44 0407 0.30 1032 2.00 1012 1.75 0110 1.23 0318 1.12 0348 0.44 0407 0.30 1705 0.14 SA 1638 0.33 0656 0.58 0845 0.75 1032 2.00 1012 1.75 FR 2310 1.55SAWE 2239 1.47 1330 1.57 1518 1.40 1705 0.14 1638 0.33 FRTU 20221.55 0.47 22211.47 0.58 2310 2239 0427 0.44 0459 0.33 1047 1.72 1120 1.91 0226 1.20 0429 1.15 0427 0.44 0459 0.33 1712 0.34 1750 0.21 SU 0808 0.61 0959 0.75 1047 1.72 1120 1.91 SA 2316 1.50 2358 1.54SUTH 1443 1.57 1628 1.40 1712 0.34 1750 0.21 WE SA 21381.54 0.43 23191.50 0.55 2316 2358 0508 0.45 0550 0.39 1126 1.67 1207 1.77 0346 1.23 0530 1.21 0508 0.45 0550 0.39 1746 0.36 1833 0.30 MO 0925 0.58 1107 0.71 1126 1.67 1207 1.77 SU 2357 1.51 15560.30 1.62MOFR 1730 1.43 1746 0.36 1833 SUTH 2244 0.35 2357 1.51 0553 0.48 0045 1.51 1206 1.60 0643 0.48 0453 1.32 0008 0.49 0553 0.48 0045 1.51 1824 0.40 1254 1.61 TU 1036 0.51 0618 1.29 1206 1.60 0643 0.48 MO 1916 0.41TUSA 1700 1.70 12040.40 0.64 1824 1254 1.61 MOFR 23400.41 0.27 1820 1.47 1916 0040 1.52 0134 1.48 0642 0.51 0738 0.57 0548 1.43 0049 0.44 0040 1.52 0134 1.48 1250 1.51 1341 1.45 WE 1138 0.41 0700 1.38 0642 0.51 0738 0.57 TU 1905 0.45 1959 0.50WESU 1758 1.76 1253 0.56 1250 1.51 1341 1.45 TUSA 19030.45 1.52 1905 1959 0.50 0128 1.53 0226 1.45 0838 0.64 0738 0.55 0126 0.39 0030 0.20 0128 1.53 0226 1.45 1431 1.31 TH 1342 1.41 0738 1.54 0736 1.47 0838 0.64 0738 0.55 WE 2045 0.58THMO 1952 0.51 1333 0.32 1335 0.48 1431 1.31 1342 1.41 WESU 19490.58 1.80 19430.51 1.55 2045 1952 0320 1.43 0223 1.53 0945 0.69 0845 0.58 0159 0.35 0215 0.17 0320 1.43 0223 1.53 1531 1.21 FR 1445 1.32 0811 1.55 0824 1.63 0945 0.69 0845 0.58 TH 2136 0.64FRTU 2050 0.56 1415 0.41 1426 0.25 1531 1.21 1445 1.32 MO TH 20210.56 1.57 20380.64 1.78 2136 2050 0419 1.44 0327 1.55 0231 0.32 0257 0.18 1057 0.69 1002 0.57 0419 1.44 0327 1.55 1643 1.16 SA 1602 1.26 0845 1.63 0908 1.69 1057 0.69 1002 0.57 FR 1455 0.35 1515 0.23 2235 0.67SAWE 2200 0.58 1643 1.16 1602 1.26 FRTU 21000.58 1.57 21260.67 1.72 2235 2200 0519 1.46 0437 1.61 0336 0.22 0305 0.32 1205 0.65 1122 0.51 0519 1.46 0437 1.61 1752 1.17 SU 1724 1.28 0951 1.73 0922 1.70 1205 0.65 1122 0.51 SA 1603 0.24 1537 0.30 2334 0.66SUTH 2312 0.56 1752 1.17 1724 1.28 WE SA 22110.66 1.63 21410.56 1.55 2334 2312 0615 1.51 0546 1.70 0415 0.29 0341 0.33 1300 0.59 1232 0.41 0615 1.51 0546 1.70 1033 1.73 1000 1.76 1851 1.21 MO 1835 1.34 1300 0.59 1232 0.41 SU 16521.21 0.28MOFR 16211.34 0.28 1851 1835 SUTH 2256 1.51 2225 1.50 0028 0.63 0018 0.49 0452 0.38 0418 0.36 0702 1.57 0648 1.80 0028 0.63 0018 0.49 1115 1.70 1042 1.78 1346 0.52 TU 1331 0.30 0702 1.57 0648 1.80 MO 1739 0.34 1708 0.28 1938 1.26TUSA 1933 1.43 1346 0.52 1331 0.30 MOFR 23411.26 1.40 23131.43 1.44 1938 1933 0114 0.59 0118 0.42 0530 0.47 0500 0.42 0745 1.63 0745 1.89 0114 0.59 0118 0.42 1156 1.65 1127 1.78 1425 0.45 WE 1424 0.22 0745 1.63 0745 1.89 TU 1828 0.42 1800 0.31 2018 1.32WESU 2026 1.51 1425 0.45 1424 0.22 TUSA 2018 1.32 2026 1.51 0155 0.54 0027 1.29 0004 1.37 0824 1.68 0155 0.54 0607 0.56 0547 0.49 1500 0.40 0824 1.68 WE 1237 1.58 2054 1.36 MO 1216 1.74 1500 0.40 WESU 19181.36 0.50 1857 0.35 2054 0233 0.50 0115 1.20 0102 1.30 0900 1.72 0233 0.50 0649 0.65 0642 0.56 1533 0.36 0900 1.72 TH 1322 1.50 2129 1.40 TU 1311 1.69 1533 0.36 MO TH 20151.40 0.56 2001 0.39 2129

m Time m m Time m m Time Time 0214 0.51 0213 0.34 0837 1.94 0832 1.69 0340 1.19 0323 1.25 0214 0.51 0213 0.34 1511 0.17 FR 1459 0.37 0908 0.78 0859 0.64 0837 1.94 0832 1.69 TH 2100 1.50 2114 1.58FRFR 1528 1.40 1525 1.61 1511 0.17 1459 0.37 THTH 2223 0.55 22201.58 0.39 2100 1.50 2114 0304 0.30 0251 0.45 0926 1.94 0909 1.72 0441 1.25 0435 1.31 0304 0.30 0251 0.45 1555 0.17 SA 1531 0.34 1019 0.75 1015 0.61 0926 1.94 0909 1.72 FR 2200 1.62SASA 2135 1.57 1633 1.39 1637 1.61 1555 0.17 1531 0.34 FRFR 2314 0.52 23211.62 0.35 2200 2135 1.57 0354 0.29 0330 0.41 1014 1.89 0946 1.72 0533 1.33 0537 1.40 0354 0.29 0330 0.41 1636 0.21 SU 1604 0.33 1126 0.54 1124 0.70 1014 1.89 0946 1.72 SA 2244 1.64SUSU 2211 1.62 1743 1.63 1731 1.41 1636 0.21 1604 0.33 SASA 2358 0.47 2244 1.64 2211 1.62 0443 0.32 0411 0.39 1059 1.79 1026 1.70 0617 1.42 0014 0.31 0443 0.32 0411 0.39 1716 0.29 MO 1638 0.34 1219 0.62 0630 1.51 1059 1.79 1026 1.70 SU 2327 1.63MOMO 2249 1.66 1821 1.44 1230 0.45 1716 0.29 1638 0.34 SUSU 18391.63 1.64 2327 2249 1.66 0531 0.38 0455 0.39 1143 1.66 1107 1.64 0037 0.43 0101 0.28 0531 0.38 0455 0.39 1754 0.38 TU 1715 0.37 0658 1.53 0717 1.61 1143 1.66 1107 1.64 MO 2330 1.69 1308 0.52 13260.38 0.37 TUTU 1754 1715 0.37 MOMO 1907 1.47 1931 1.63 2330 1.69 0009 1.60 0542 0.41 0619 0.46 1151 1.57 0115 0.39 0145 0.28 0009 1.60 0542 0.41 1225 1.52 WE 1754 0.43 0735 1.63 0802 1.70 0619 0.46 1151 1.57 TU 1830 0.48WEWE 1353 0.43 1417 0.31 1225 1.52 1754 0.43 TUTU 1950 1.49 20190.48 1.60 1830 0052 1.56 0015 1.69 0709 0.55 0634 0.44 0151 0.36 0224 0.30 0052 1.56 0015 1.69 1308 1.38 TH 1240 1.47 0814 1.74 0845 1.76 0709 0.55 0634 0.44 WE 1837 0.50 1907 0.57THTH 1437 0.34 1505 0.28 1308 1.38 1240 1.47 WEWE 2035 1.50 21050.57 1.54 1837 0.50 1907 0136 1.51 0103 1.67 0803 0.62 0732 0.49 0302 0.34 0230 0.35 0136 1.51 0103 1.67 1356 1.27 FR 1335 1.37 0926 1.79 0855 1.83 0803 0.62 0732 0.49 TH 1948 0.66FRFR 1928 0.58 1551 0.28 1522 0.27 1356 1.27 1335 1.37 THTH 21500.66 1.47 2121 1.49 1948 1928 0.58 0200 1.64 0226 1.46 0339 0.40 0310 0.36 0841 0.52 0904 0.67 0200 1.64 0226 1.46 1443 1.29 1453 1.18 SA 1005 1.79 0938 1.89 0841 0.52 0904 0.67 FR 1635 0.31 1610 0.23 2030 0.64 2040 0.72SASA 1443 1.29 1453 1.18 FRFR 22340.72 1.40 2211 1.46 2030 0.64 2040 0324 1.43 0306 1.62 0415 0.47 0355 0.38 1014 0.69 0958 0.52 0324 1.43 0306 1.62 1604 1.15 SU 1602 1.27 1044 1.76 1023 1.92 1014 0.69 0958 0.52 SA 1718 0.35 1700 0.21 2146 0.67 2146 0.75SUSU 1604 1.15 1602 1.27 SASA 23160.75 1.33 2302 1.43 2146 0.67 2146 0430 1.43 0420 1.64 0451 0.54 0443 0.43 1123 0.66 1112 0.48 0430 1.43 0420 1.64 1121 1.71 1112 1.91 1721 1.17 MO 1722 1.31 1123 0.66 1112 0.48 SU 1801 0.41 1753 0.23 2257 0.75MOMO 2303 0.63 1721 1.17 1722 1.31 SUSU 2358 1.38 2257 0.75 2303 0.63 0533 1.47 0531 1.69 0000 1.26 0534 0.49 1222 0.61 1217 0.41 0533 1.47 0531 1.69 0529 0.61 1203 1.87 1824 1.22 TU 1827 1.40 1222 0.61 1217 0.41 MO 12001.22 1.64 TUTU 1850 0.27 1824 1827 1.40 MOMO 1846 0.47 0000 0.70 0011 0.55 0057 1.34 0045 1.21 0628 1.52 0634 1.76 0000 0.70 0011 0.55 0632 0.55 0610 0.67 1311 0.54 WE 1313 0.34 0628 1.52 0634 1.76 TU 1259 1.79 1241 1.57 1912 1.29WEWE 1921 1.50 1311 0.54 1313 0.34 TUTU 1950 0.31 19341.29 0.52 1912 1921 1.50 0051 0.64 0111 0.47 0200 1.32 0136 1.18 0715 1.59 0729 1.81 0051 0.64 0111 0.47 0736 0.60 0659 0.73 1351 0.48 TH 1400 0.29 0715 1.59 0729 1.81 WE 1400 1.71 1328 1.50 1951 1.37THTH 2009 1.59 1351 0.48 1400 0.29 WEWE 2053 0.35 20281.37 0.55 1951 2009 1.59 0134 0.57 0204 0.39 0235 1.17 0308 1.34 0755 1.65 0819 1.83 0134 0.57 0204 0.39 0759 0.77 0846 0.63 1426 0.42 FR 1445 0.27 0755 1.65 0819 1.83 TH 1423 1.44 FRFR 1505 1.62 2027 2053 1.66 1426 0.42 1445 0.27 THTH 21261.44 0.57 2155 0.37 2027 2053 1.66 0254 0.35 0906 1.80 0254 0.35 1525 0.28 0906 1.80 SA 2135 1.71 0.28 SA 1525 2135 1.71

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

25 2525

10 1010

11 1111

26 2626

27 2727

12 1212

13 13 13

28 2828

14 14 14 15 15 15

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

10 10 10

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

25 2525

10 1010

11 11 11

26 2626

12 12 12

Local Time Local Time APRIL DECEMBER Time TimeAPRIL m

m Timem m Timem m Time Time 0212 0.40 0241 0.34 0819 1.68 0851 1.74 0345 1.28 0414 1.39 0212 0.40 0241 0.34 1428 0.36 1502 0.33 0925 0.76 1000 0.62 MO 0819 1.68 0851 1.74 SU 2043 1.79 2115 1.73 1531 1.38 1615 1.56MO SU 1428 0.36 1502 0.33 SU SA 2214 2251 0.38 2043 1.790.53 2115 1.73 0327 0.36 0256 0.36 0934 1.65 0903 1.65 0514 1.47 0440 1.35 0327 0.36 0256 0.36 1538 0.40 1505 0.38 1113 0.58 TU 1034 0.73 0934 1.65 0903 1.65 MO 2155 1.73 2124 1.84 1720 1.52TUMO 1635 1.35 1538 0.40 1505 0.38 MOSU 2343 0.38 2302 2155 1.73 2124 1.840.51 0412 0.41 0344 0.34 1016 1.54 0950 1.60 0607 1.56 0530 1.45 0412 0.41 0344 0.34 1613 0.48 1545 0.42 1219 0.52 WE 1140 0.66 1016 1.54 0950 1.60 TU 2233 1.70 2208 1.86 1819 1.48WE TU 1735 1.35 1613 0.48 1545 0.42 TUMO 2347 2233 1.70 2208 1.860.47 0456 0.47 0434 0.35 1058 1.44 1041 1.53 0030 0.39 0616 1.56 0456 0.47 0434 0.35 1645 0.56 1630 0.48 0656 1.65 TH 1237 0.56 1058 1.44 1041 1.53 WE 2311 1.65 2255 1.85 1318 0.45THWE 1830 1.37 1645 0.56 1630 0.48 WE TU 1913 1.45 2311 1.65 2255 1.85 0542 0.54 0530 0.39 1135 1.44 1140 1.34 0113 0.40 0031 0.44 0542 0.54 0530 0.39 1718 0.56 1720 0.65 0741 1.72 FR 0700 1.68 1135 1.44 1140 1.34 TH 2346 1.80 2350 1.59 1410 0.39FR TH 1330 0.45 1718 0.56 1720 0.65 THWE 2002 1.42 1923 2346 1.801.40 2350 1.59 0631 0.60 0630 0.43 1226 1.26 1235 1.37 0153 0.42 0115 0.41 0631 0.60 0630 0.43 1800 0.72 1815 0.64 0823 1.77 SA 0745 1.80 1226 1.26 1235 1.37 FR 1456 0.36SA FR 1420 1800 0.72 1815 0.640.34 FR TH 2048 1.39 2015 1.43 0035 1.53 0045 1.75 0726 0.65 0739 0.47 0200 0.38 0231 0.45 0035 1.53 0045 1.75 1320 1.21 1345 1.32 0902 1.79 SU 0832 1.90 0726 0.65 0739 0.47 SA 1851 0.78 1921 0.70 1538 0.34SU SA 1509 0.24 1320 1.21 1345 1.32 SA FR 2131 1.36 2106 1851 0.78 1921 0.701.44 0130 1.48 0152 1.70 0829 0.67 0850 0.48 0308 0.48 0248 0.37 0130 1.48 0152 1.70 1428 1.18 1501 1.33 0941 1.80 MO 0920 1.98 0829 0.67 0850 0.48 SU 1958 0.82 2038 0.71 1618 0.34MO SU 1559 0.17 1428 1.18 1501 1.33 SU SA 2213 1.33 2158 1958 0.82 2038 0.711.45 0235 1.45 0305 1.67 0345 0.52 0338 0.37 0934 0.66 0956 0.46 0235 1.45 0305 1.67 1542 1.21 1612 1.39 1017 1.78 TU 1009 2.02 0934 0.66 0956 0.46 MO 1657 0.36TUMO 1649 0.15 2114 0.82 2154 0.68 1542 1.21 1612 1.39 MOSU 2253 1.30 2251 2114 0.82 2154 0.681.45 0345 1.46 0415 1.68 0421 0.56 0430 0.39 1034 0.62 1055 0.43 0345 1.46 0415 1.68 1645 1.27 1711 1.48 1054 1.74 WE 1100 2.01 1034 0.62 1055 0.43 TU 1735 0.39WE TU 1742 0.15 2222 0.78 2301 0.61 1645 1.27 1711 1.48 TUMO 2333 1.28 2345 2222 0.78 2301 0.611.43 0445 1.50 0515 1.70 0500 0.60 0525 0.42 1124 0.57 1145 0.40 0445 1.50 0515 1.70 1130 1.69 TH 1152 1.95 1735 1.35 1801 1.58 1124 0.57 1145 0.40 WE 1815 0.43THWE 1835 2319 0.70 1735 1.35 1801 1.580.20 WE TU 2319 0.70 0534 1.56 0001 0.53 0015 1.25 0043 1.42 1205 0.51 0609 1.70 0534 1.56 0001 0.53 0540 0.65 FR 0622 0.47 1815 1.44 1230 0.38 1205 0.51 0609 1.70 TH 1209 1.63FR TH 1245 1.85 1847 1.67 1815 1.44 1230 0.38 THWE 1857 0.47 1930 1847 1.670.26 0006 0.62 0054 0.47 0100 1.23 0141 1.41 0617 1.61 0658 1.68 0006 0.62 0054 0.47 0626 0.69 SA 0723 0.53 1243 0.45 1312 0.39 0617 1.61 0658 1.68 FR 1250 1.56SA FR 1342 1.73 1852 1.53 1930 1.74 1243 0.45 1312 0.39 FR TH 1942 0.51 2026 1852 1.53 1930 1.740.33 0048 0.54 0142 0.43 0150 1.23 0242 1.42 0658 1.65 0744 1.64 0048 0.54 0142 0.43 0717 0.73 SU 0830 0.58 1317 0.40 1349 0.41 0658 1.65 0744 1.64 SA 1337 1.49SU SA 1442 1.59 1928 1.62 2009 1.78 1317 0.40 1349 0.41 SA FR 2031 0.53 2121 1928 1.62 2009 1.780.39 0130 0.46 0227 0.41 0245 1.24 0344 1.45 0738 1.68 0827 1.58 0130 0.46 0227 0.41 0817 0.76 MO 0942 0.61 1351 0.37 1425 0.46 0738 1.68 0827 1.58 SU 1430 1.42MO SU 1547 1.47 2004 1.71 2047 1.80 1351 0.37 1425 0.46 SU SA 2123 0.54 2215 2004 1.71 2047 1.800.44

1 11

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2 22

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3 33

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20 2020

6 66

21 2121

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31 0209 0745

1.25 0.62 WE 1414 1.64 2112 0.40

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31 0445 1056

1.50 0.61 MO 1654 1.38 2308 0.47

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2016, Bureau of Meteorology Copyright Commonwealth Australia 2016, Bureau Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of of Australia 2016, Bureau of of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of are Predictions is Lowesttime Astronomical Tideor daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times in local standard (UTC +10:00) Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Sydney (Fort Denison) have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions. 86

NOVEMBER 2018

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat 88 Abandon ship! Inside story...

The team at Baysport Boats began building fibreglass boats over 25 years ago on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Initially there was only one model available - a 5.3m half cabin. This boat was well received and before long a 4.9m runabout was added to the range. Other boats were added to the range and interest was shown from interstate buyers.

Made for...

The Baysport Boats team is dedicated to building affordable but solidly built fibreglass boats that are exceptional value for money yet achieve outstanding on-water performance.

This month...

We’re checking out the 640 Sports powered by a 175hp V6 Mercury with Gary Brown. Check it out on page 94!

Justin Willmer looks at the joys of parking the kayak and venturing out on foot.

91 Yakking Urunga

Dayne Taylor examines what this lovely part of the coast can offer the yak angler.

92 Planning a boat trip Wayne Kampe looks at what you can do on land to make your trip more enjoyable.

96 Haines Hunter 585R

Steve Morgan takes this beast with a Yamaha F200hp four stroke out on a breezy Port Phillip Bay.

98 New from Lowrance See what’s new in the wonderful world of Lowrance marine electronics.

NOVEMBER 2018

Abandon ship! BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

What a month… wind, rain and weed! I’m grateful to see November roll around and hopefully bring with it some good weather, hot bites and the end of the annual seasonal slime weed that invades the systems I fish. Hopefully you have all been finding a few fish. For me it has been a few short sessions on the

up my latest adventure, here’s how I generally approach a new creek system and the key structure that I look for. ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURE Artificial structure is always worth a cast and this can be in the form of pontoons, moored boats, rock walls, stormwater drains and even a shopping trolley in a creek. Structure attracts bait, offers a break from the current, protection from predators and an ambush point.

your lure under or tight along the side of the boat. Finally, a mooring line or anchor rope, along with the mooring or anchor can be enough to hold bait or fish. Stormwater drains are another favourite, especially when releasing water into the system as fish love to feed on the morsels being home delivered to them. Casting your lure hard against the outlet and allowing it to drift naturally with the flow will see strikes, as will casting along each side of the pipes

A handful of flathead caught casting lures from the bank. of the wall and hopefully attracting the attention of fish foraging in the rocks. Alternatively, fishing along the rock wall and working your lure right along the base of the rock wall can produce larger predatory species that are patrolling the base of the wall. Don’t disregard any artificial structure as I remember a night kayak

fishing under a wharf precinct and shopping centre, catching bream, cod, flathead and trevally off pylons, rocks and pipes, with some of our best fish coming off shopping trolleys that had been dumped in the creek – just like artificial reefs, but in the suburbs. When fishing this structure, I generally just drift and cast, however, if you

find a productive area you can deploy an anchor, drag anchor or even use a grab anchor made up of a spring clamp and length of cord to hold position. This will allow you to concentrate your casts in the area and work the area more effectively with your lure or position your bait exactly where you want it. NATURAL STRUCTURE When I enter a new creek

Weedless rigged soft plastics are a great option when the structure gets snaggier. SUP and kayak, hiding from the wind and fishing the creeks. Creeks are a great place to escape the wind,

When fishing pontoons target the back corners, any shady pockets, swim your lures along the front and even allow your lure to

or concrete structure. Bridges are always worth a cast and I generally cast past the pylons and swim the lure back naturally with the current, varying the depth of the retrieve by casting further past the pylon, allowing a longer sink or varying the retrieve speed. Targeting the pressure point in front of the pylons and the eddy behind the pylons will also produce results on species such as bream, flathead, mangrove jack and bass in the upper reaches. Rock walls also hold fish and I generally fish the lure down the face of the wall, following the slope

A land-based flathead caught on the ZMan 3” MinnowZ accessed via kayak.

Artificial structure includes moored boats, bridges, pontoons and rock walls. with the bends of the creek offering sheltered areas to fish and plenty of new water to explore. Google Maps or the internet are great places to start looking for access points to launch, be it boat ramps, parks or even the clear areas left during the construction of bridges. When fishing new water keep an eye out for active bait as a signal that fish are feeding in the area and target available structure, as fish love structure. Before I wrap 88

NOVEMBER 2018

drift in under the pontoon. Lightly weighted soft plastics are a favourite for me, rigged on 1/28oz, 1/20oz or 1/16oz jigheads. Moored boats have also produced plenty of fish, including bream, mangrove jack and trevally. Targeting any feature of the boat that creates a break from the current is effective, including motors and keels. Shady sections also hold fish, including duckboards and the shadow of the boat, so run

Flathead are an excellent land-based target, feeding along the drop-offs and channel edges.

system the first thing I do is make note of any structure and artificial structure can often be more obvious, while natural structure can blend into the scenery more and will initially be less noticeable. Natural structure can be as major as a rock bar, fallen timber or sand bank, or as subtle as a slight depression in the bottom, weed edge or mangrove point. A single stick poking out of the water can signal more structure below and I have landed a stack of different species casting to a single visible twig. Natural structure can often be messier and more snaggy than more defined artificial structure and if I am snagging and fouling lures I will generally switch to a weedless rigged soft plastic presentation, as this allows me to drive the lure

deep in amongst the timber, lilies, weed and other natural structure. Mangrove edges are always worth a cast, paying particular attention to changes in the mangrove line, such as points, pockets,

including drop-offs, channel edges, deeper holes and even deeper sections on the flats. I often get out of my kayak on the lower stages of the tide and walk the creek flats and sand banks looking for flathead lies, small holes

to fish, due to the weather and other commitments, my wife and I were keeping an eye on the tides and the weather forecast to lock in an afternoon fish. Perfect, a 3:30pm low tide and 4-6 knot winds, we were in for a

The author’s basic setup for the windy afternoon session.

Getting out of the kayak can sometimes make fishing easier. drains and fallen limbs, as these will often be the most productive sections. Weed beds are a favourite for me when targeting new systems, be it rolling plastics across the top of them on higher tides or hopping weedless rigged plastics among the pockets of sand and rubble, or even along the weed face. Weed beds hold plenty of food, along with shelter and an ambush point. Rock bars are gold. Find a rock bar in a creek system and you have often found one of the most consistent produces in that system. Rock bars create pressure points, eddies, and ambush points, they also attract crustaceans and baitfish that in turn attract predators. Changes in depth are also worth noting and fishing,

in the bottom where fish have been feeding, crabs, yabby holes and other signs that fish may be attracted to different sections of the flats and banks when the tide starts flooding again. Working the channel edges and drop-offs, especially in a system without significant natural or artificial structure, is also a winning technique, as fish will travel along these edges when feeding and when moving in and out with the tide. Baitfish will be holding tight to these edges as they move with the tide also, so keep an eye out for nervous water, rippling and changing water caused by nervous bait, along with any bait splashing or fleeing and get a cast in there. ABANDON SHIP With little opportunity

gusts, thanks to some storm activity in the area. But we had waited long enough for a fish, so we rigged and readied our gear and decided to push on anyway. Five minutes in and we realised our decision was a poor one, as the wind gusts kept pushing us back into the bank before we could even make a couple of casts. It

along the bank to the next suitable section for landbased fishing. A massive shout out to Sea to Summit at this point in time, as they saved us the loss of my wife Sheri’s good camera. We normally carry waterproof cameras in the kayaks, however, on this occasion Sheri had opted to bring her larger camera. We

Abandon ship. Working lures from the comfort of the bank. flathead fest drifting a weedy channel edge. Come game day, we launched our kayaks and were faced with weedy conditions and 20 knot wind

Tough work, but one that made the grade for dinner.

was uncomfortable, virtually impossible to fish and hopes of catching a few fish for my parents who were coming to visit were fading fast. Instead of pulling the pin we made a change of plan and decided to paddle a few hundred metres to a section of bank that dropped off more steeply, allowing us to beach our kayaks and work the bank land-based. Not really kayak fishing, but without the kayak we would not have been able to access this area to fish. Keep this in mind in terms of your local creek systems, as even though the wind may be blowing, the kayak may allow you to access a bank, sand bank or flat that you can fish effectively land-based. Once out of our craft we could comfortably fish from the sand, mud or weed, fanning casts up current and bouncing our 2.5” and 3” paddle-tail plastics back with the current. Even though it was blowing we could still effectively fish the area and then slide our kayaks back in and move further

always store gear in Sea to Summit dry bags and roll them up with enough air trapped inside to float the bag and contents. After moving along the bank further Sheri went to grab her camera and it was gone. So, after some stress and almost a few tears, we slid the kayaks back in and back tracked. The wind was blowing in our faces and the tide was still dropping, so we hoped

the bag had floated and been blown back into the shore. We fast paddled about 50m and felt relief, as there up on the weed bed was a bright blue dry bag. Sheri retrieved the bag, opened it and there was the camera in its case, safe and dry. A lesson to us all, dry bags, leashes and safety first. Conditions were still testing with wind, weed and some stormy weather looming, however, we were having fun, sharing a few stories and laughs, and making plenty of casts. We ground it out and managed a few small flathead on the 3” paddle-tails and a few bream on the 2.5” paddle-tails. It was their unlucky day, as they would normally have been released, however, they were instead dispatched into the icebox for a fish dinner for my folks. We had made the most of what we were presented with and had the survival story of Sheri’s camera to tell for our day on the water, along with a feed of fresh fish for my folks. If you find yourself confronted with average weather when you have some available fishing time, make sure you check out the creeks in your area and make note of any structure that may be holding fish. Alternatively, you can always abandon ship like we did, using your kayak to access suitable areas for land-based fishing. See you on the water.

The kayak slid up on a point with a steep drop-off. Perfect for working plastics. NOVEMBER 2018

WHAT’S NEW BOATING YAMAHA SUMMER SALE

Say hello to summer with Yamaha’s outboard sale, and take advantage of this special deal: $15 per hp off all 2.5-130hp Yamaha 4-stroke outboards. This offer provides significant savings of up to $1950. Whether you are repowering or buying a new boat, Yamaha is giving boaties this summer the perfect opportunity to pick up a new outboard for less. From the revolutionary F25 and F75 to the next generation F90, Yamaha outboards have been fuelling the summers of Australian boaties for many years. With one of the most extensive ranges of outboard engines in the market, Yamaha has reliable engine options for every boat, large or small. This special limited offer is available to recreational customers until 30 November. Visit your local Yamaha dealer to learn more, or visit the Yamaha Marine website. You can also check them out on Facebook at www. facebook.com/YamahaOutboardsAustralia. www.yamaha-motor.com.au/outboard

AUGMENTED REALITY FROM RAYMARINE 2 Raymarine ClearCruise AR (Augmented Reality) brings enhanced on water awareness to Raymarine’s Axiom multifunction displays (MFDs). There is also a new video stabilisation module, the Raymarine AR200, which integrates with ClearCruise. ClearCruise AR video imagery is supported by Raymarine CAM210 HD marine cameras to provide an augmented reality view from any camera position on the vessel. The video stabilisation module includes a precision GPS/GNSS sensor and the same attitude heading reference sensor (AHRS) technology used in Raymarine’s award-winning Evolution autopilots. ClearCruise AR accurately displays nearby navigation markers, automatic identification system (AIS) traffic, objects, and waypoints in sync with real-world imagery, which is ideal for complex navigation and high traffic situations. ClearCruise AR for Raymarine Axiom, Axiom Pro, and Axiom XL is compatible with the upcoming LightHouse 3.7 OS update. Price: SRP $999 (camera), $899 (video stabilisation module) www.raymarine.com/clearcruise

SIMRAD HALO24

Simrad’s HALO24 combines the performance and reliability of Simrad’s radars with the advantages of innovative technology and a lightweight design. It boasts 60rpm high-speed rotation at distances up to 2nm. Offering high quality short, mid, and long-range detection, up to 48nm, HALO24 processes multiple ranges simultaneously for instantaneous Dual Range performance. VelocityTrack Doppler technology provides instant visual feedback on the motion of radar targets in relation to the boat – colourcoding approaching vessels, as well as MARPA functionality, decreasing the risk of collision. The lightest 24” Pulse Compression radar dome on the market, the low profile Halo dome offers different power-level options. In a matter of seconds, the radar will boot from low-power standby to full functionality in any mode—harbour, offshore, weather, and bird. This easy-to-use radar optimizes up to 18 parameters for each pre-defined mode. Price: SRP $3599 www.simrad-yachting.com 90

NOVEMBER 2018

MERCURY FOURSTROKE SALE

Big savings of up to $1150 are now available on selected 2.5-115hp Mercury FourStroke outboards. By acting quickly, boat owners can also take advantage of Mercury Finance’s very competitive loan rate of just 3.99% (comparison rate) for 40-150hp repowers**. The Mercury FourStroke Revolution savings offer is available to recreational and commercial customers until 23 November. Mercury FourStrokes deliver reliable starting, excellent fuel efficiency, smooth operation, electronic fuel injection (EFI models), tougher components, corrosion protection, and the availability of SmartCraft digital monitoring on selected models. *All new 15 and 20hp FourStroke models excluded. **For recreational customers. Fees, terms, conditions and credit criteria apply. www.mercurymarine.com.au

RAYMARINE RVX1000

The RVX1000 3D CHIRP Sonar brings RealVision 3D high-powered CHIRP Sonar to Raymarine’s Axiom XL MFDs (available in 16”, 19”, 22” and 24”). The RVX1000 can be customised to fit any boat with a wide range of available transducer options. There are dual transducer ports; Port 1 supports a Raymarine RealVision 3D transducer system while port 2 supports a range of AIRMAR broadband CHIRP transducers. Supported channels include: RealVision 3D, which shows you in 3D space the exact position of fish and structure (you can rotate the image and view it from any angle); CHIRP DownVision, which gives you a high definition, 2D photo-like view of underwater structure and fish as deep as 180m; CHIRP SideVision, which can see out to 90m on both sides in water as shallow as 1ft, and produces photolike images; High Frequency CHIRP, used for spotting gamefish and bait balls to depths of 270m; and 1kW CHIRP, which delivers excellent performance in depths up to 1500m. Owners of Raymarine eS and gS Series systems can also use RVX1000 sonar. www.raymarine.com.au

SUZUKI DF175A AND DF150A

PRODUCT GUIDE

The new Suzuki DF175A and DF150A deliver outstanding power and performance together with superior fuel efficiency – all from a super compact and lightweight unit. Osawa Yasuharu, Executive General Manager, Global Marine Products Operation, said the DF175A and DF150A both benefit from Suzuki’s Lean Burn Control System, which is designed to save fuel both at low speed and up into the cruising range. “The new DF175A and the DF150A are packed with the very latest Suzuki’s technologies,” he said. The new outboards are equipped with a Semi-Direct Air Intake System for a cooler flow of air, O2 Sensor to optimise combustion, and a knock sensor for superior reliability. Suzuki has also utilised its pioneering offset driveshaft to move the outboard’s centre of gravity forward, to improve balance and reduce vibration on the transom whilst contributing to the outboard’s overall compactness. The DF175A and DF150A will be available in early 2019. www.suzukimarine.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

SCAN THE QR CODE!

Urunga – where the rivers meet the sea URUNGA

Dayne Taylor

This month’s Kayak Hotspot takes you to the picturesque mid north coast town of Urunga, situated a casual 20-minute drive south of the CBD of Coffs Harbour, and a leisurely 15 minutes north of Nambucca.

at the Riverside Holiday Resort. It’s all within walking distance to cafes, hotels, grocery stores and of course the water. Three of the holiday parks also have river front access. After calling into the local tackle store in Coffs Harbour (MO Tackle & Outdoors) you will leave with some great insights as to what to chase at this time

and it’s open to anyone and everyone. It’s well worth looking into if you are interested in lure and fly fishing competitions. YAKKING Urunga has plenty on offer for kayak anglers! There are many places to launch your kayak in the river, and the most convenient is along Atherton Drive. It includes two public boat ramps and

Craig Hanlon with a snapper from Wenonah Headland.

Rigged up and ready to catch a snapper at Wenonah Headland. As you enter the town you’ll see a sign saying ‘Urunga, where the rivers meet the sea’, and there’s no better way to explain it than exactly that. The town is built right where the Bellinger River and Kalang River merge into one and enter the sea via an ocean bar. So it really is a ‘choose your own adventure’ kind of location!

of year, where the best places to launch are, and of course a few new lures to test out while out on the water. I also recommend contacting Dale from Freshest Fishing Tours if your main priority is catching fish. Dale has a wealth of knowledge of the area and is definitely worth spending some time on the water with, that’s for sure.

The author caught this Belinger River bream on a Cranka Crab. Urunga is a relatively small town but it still boasts plenty of accommodation options, including a variety of caravan parks, offering both powered and un-powered camp sites. And for the people wanting a little more comfort there’s a multitude of cabins and even very affordable fully furnished units available

And if you particularly like chasing flatties, you can enter the annual Berkley Urunga Flathead Tournament. Every year on the second weekend in November this sleepy little town comes alive with anglers from far and wide coming to compete. It’s a fun catch, photo and release friendly fishing competition,

a stretch of approximately 1km of river frontage. Both the Bellinger and Kalang Rivers are recreational fishing havens, and offer a vast variety of estuary fishing options. In the lower tidal stretches of the river systems you will find miles of clear water covering sand flats, manmade rock training walls, bridges, pontoons and jetties. It’s perfect for chasing bread and butter species such as bream, flathead and of course whiting. Some of these same areas also have trophy-size mulloway, trevally (big-eye and juvenile giant trevally), and mangrove jack all co-mingling together. Additionally, just 10 minutes’ drive west (or a solid couple of hours in the yak upriver), you will find plenty of Australian bass in the brackish and freshwater. That’s the kind of location that kayak anglers’ dreams are made of! And if the weather is good and you are comfortable in the yak offshore, these waters are teeming with plenty of reef species. A great location to launch your kayak is just five minutes to the south at a headland called Wenonah Headland. This spot has plenty of room for car and trailer parking, typical bush toilet facilities, a nice little wood fire BBQ area and 4x4 access to the beach, where there is a protected bay ideal for launching kayaks. This location is also used by the local deep sea fishing club (the Urunga Anglers) to launch boats, so the access to the beach is well maintained.

When fishing the inshore reefs you can expect to encounter snapper, pearl perch, kingfish, mulloway and samsonfish year round. And the warm northern currents from late December through to June usually bring with them plenty of pelagic species as well, including Spanish and spotted mackerel, northern bluefin tuna and even the odd black marlin. A quick Google Earth satellite search of the area

will show you just how much fishable reef is literally metres from the shoreline. You will not have to paddle or peddle far at all before you start fishing. The gear I recommend to take offshore is a fast action 7’ 10-20lb rod matched to a 4000 size spin reel. Anything similar in length for a nice long cast in the 10kg weight range is ideal for throwing plastics around in search of a nice big shallow water North

Coast knobby snapper. Plastics such as the Berkley Gulp 5” and 7” Jerk Shads are a personal favourite of mine to trick these fish also. A quality sounder with a GPS/map that also shows the water depth, or even one that can mark bait and fish, definitely makes life easier but it’s not essential. So whether you’re a bait or lure fisho, or even just looking for a relaxing kayak getaway, Urunga has plenty on offer for everyone!

Jason O’Brien with a Spanish mackerel caught out from Urunga.

FISHING & BOATING LIFESTYLE PROGRAM KIERAN REEKIE & ALAN BLAKE + many others talk fishing and boating

SAT / SUN 4am - 7am

RADIO 2SM

The Super Radio Network

hitide@2sm.com.au

13 12 69 NOVEMBER 2018

Planning a boating trip PART 1 BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Owning a boat definitely widens your fishing horizons, but there’s more to going fishing than just going fishing. Many years ago I often

or you have to make a long drive to a distant ramp, it’s worth considering things that might throw a spanner in the works. First, the trailer. Why the trailer? Well, it’s generally a major part of any the boating set-up so it needs a once-over. The first thing to do when you get home is to check

dramatically when you’re retrieving a boat and they’re under serious strain. LAUNCH LESSONS The D shackle that links the boat and safety chain is a definite risk management site. How often have you seen a boat backed down a ramp, a member of the launch team trying in vain to undo a seized shackle, and

Let’s have a cast! Planning the trip carefully and checking out all aspects of the rig to avoid problems will give you peace of mind. wiring and accessories are already in place. Next comes the winch handle. Many trailers have a removable handle, and these are notorious for being left on the winch when the boat

particularly if you’re planning a trip far afield, a long way from your local marine/chandlery outlets. It’s easy to fire up the engine at home to assess battery performance and ease

might inhibit the bilge pump with its busy little impeller. If possible, try to get a ‘feel’ for things by having a poke around the bilge sump and pump. If it’s difficult to physically access the bilge

The safety chain shackle should be carefully maintained to avoid issues with jamming on the ramp. fished on mates’ boats, and they weren’t always maintained correctly, so we were sometimes involved in what you might call ‘issues’. Have you ever seen a tinny come off a box trailer at 100km/h on the M1? Enough said, I’m not going there. While there was always lots of fishing and boating, sometimes things happened

all lighting and indicator functions. If something isn’t working, a spray with an electrical contact enhancer might just bring to life the offending contact or contacts. Wait a short time after the application of spray, and gently jiggle the trailer’s plug into the car’s socket. This will either bring a smile to the dial or confirm that

then frantically searching for a tool? Meanwhile other people are waiting to launch and getting annoyed as work progresses on the offending shackle. It’s not a good way to start a trip. The launch itself is worth thinking about as well. You should never ever simply undo the chain

It’s a good idea to clean out the bilge sump occasionally. This lot came from the author’s boat’s bilge area, and he thought he’d kept the craft very clean! is retrieved, and they then get lost on the drive home. You should always keep a spare winch handle under the car seat. BOAT BITS Now let’s turn our attention to the boat itself. Regular checks and maintenance are important,

of start-up, and while the engine is running you can have a quick look at the engine gauges to check that all’s well. Next is the bilge pump. You never know when a bilge pump will be required, but unfortunately it’s very hard to assess what is down in the bilge sump area that

area – as will be the case with some craft – there’s nothing wrong with running a hose into the bilge area and giving it a good top up to test the pump’s ability. Then, with the pump turned off, remove the bung to totally flush the bilge to wash out foreign material. As sure as

Pedestal seats rely on screws to connect the seat to the base framework, so it’s best to ensure that they are all tight! that made a trip memorable for the wrong reasons, and the memory of these events is why I’ve decided to write this article. Why should any of us suffer through misfortunes when they can easily be avoided? Whether the proposed excursion is to a local hotspot 92

NOVEMBER 2018

there is a wiring problem which needs attention. Sorry about that! It’s good to put some lubricant on the winch gears and axle and then closely examine the strap (if you don’t have a cable) to look for any nicks or small tears. These little flaws can widen

and let her go! If the boat races back too quickly and kisses the concrete there’s a big chance of damaging a valuable and hard to replace transducer. Trying to feed a new transducer plus cabling back through the boat to connect to a sounder can be a nightmare when other

The author with a Tinaroo Dam barra. Your boat and trailer need to be in tip-top condition when you go fishing far from home.

night follows day, this stuff will accumulate over time. Now to seating. Pedestal seats are deservedly popular these days, but it’s a good idea to up end a seat now and again to ensure that none of the screws or other fittings

FILL HER UP! Fuel issues in outboard engines are legendary because our modern unleaded 91 RON petrol does not remain in good condition in hot weather. If the fuel in the boat’s tank is months old it can degrade in

Likewise, it’s a good idea to leave the fuel tank almost full prior to the next use as it will prevent unwanted air intrusion into the tank. Because there’s moisture in the air, when the temperature drops, it can

certainly not for a very extended period, is to add higher octane fuel to top it up. A last word on fuel: its smell can tell you whether it’s stale or not. It may not be possible to check the fuel smell in an underfloor tank, but with a tote tank you can. When the petrol has degraded due to aging it will smell like rotten eggs. Don’t be tempted to merely top it up with 95 RON as it will still be degraded and can cause engine damage. It’s best to remove it and start again.

TRANSDUCER ISSUES This paragraph might be of particular interest to people who have recently bought a boat. We all understand that a transducer must be right in line with the bottom of the hull to be most effective, but said transducer can also be responsible for a lot of spray coming up onto the engine when travelling at speed. Even freshwater spray, if it’s up around the engine’s air intake, can shorten an engine’s useful life, so a spray deflector set onto the transom just above the transducer puts that worry to bed.

My own Galeforce 4.5 centre console had its maiden run in Somerset Dam without a deflector over the transducer. The accompanying image shows the extent of spray deflection which I fortunately picked up on immediately. I restricted my speed to less than planing pace that day, and fitted a deflector immediately after the craft came home. That’s it for this issue. Check out the December issue for more tips on how to prevent unwelcome issues from cropping up.

The author’s Galeforce had its maiden run without a spray deflector, and you can see the displaced water it created to starboard of the E-Tec. holding the seat onto the base are loose, or even missing. You should also look for unwanted material in tote tanks. Tote tanks in smaller boats are conveniently portable so it’s easy to check for cleanliness and possible intrusion of unwanted material. And on the topic of fuel tanks…

as little as a month during a hot summer. With this in mind, it’s wise to think about the fuel prior to hooking the boat up. Old, stale fuel can cause filter issues, pre ignition, and other problems. Adding a stabilizer (always into fresh fuel of course) when a boat is going to be idle for an extended period is a handy safeguard.

cause condensation. Don’t fill it right to the top though, because in hot weather fuel will expand and then find its way out of the filler neck (which of course doesn’t have a lockable cap like a car does). Another thing you can do if the tank has been left somewhat depleted, but

A $25 spray deflector will keep displaced water from a transducer from finding its way to the engine’s intake.

One Revolutionary Ride! The Crossfire range is the most versatile boat yet. Designed for 80% fishing and 20% fun meaning the entire family will be happy out on the water. The Crossfire comes in multiple configurations with a side console as standard but can be fitted with a second twin console.

Contact your local dealer for more information.

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BLAKES MARINE

www.blakesmarine.com.au NOVEMBER 2018

Baysport 640 Sports with 175hp V6 Mercury

SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

While taking the Baysport 640 Sports out for a spin on Brisbane Waters I couldn’t get over how easily the 175hp V6 4-stroke Mercury outboard pulled the boat out of the hole and up onto the plane. It then went through to full speed without missing a beat. Sure, it’s a 175hp outboard and it should be able to do this, but it was the ease and smoothness of going from a standing start to full speed that blew me away. If you do have the chance to test drive one of these rigs, be sure to tell

your passengers to brace themselves and hang on. The Baysport 640 Sports is a versatile rig. It would suit boaters who like cruising with family or friends, waterskiing or fishing in the estuaries, freshwater dams or offshore – all with the comfort of a fibreglass boat. There is heaps of room in the cockpit and out on the back deck, and you could easily fit four anglers when having a fish. The STB fibreglass pedestal seat for the skipper had an extra storage pocket underneath, and the padded passenger seat was positioned on a stainless-steel frame with room underneath to strap a small esky. For extra comfort there was also a fibreglass foot rest.

I found that I could easily see through or over the windscreen while either sitting or standing, and at rest or at speed. If you unzip part of the front cover you can get SPECIFICATIONS

Hull length: ...............................................6.4m Beam: ......................................................2.48m Length on trailer: ......................................7.7m Height on trailer: ......................................3.0m Max hp: ....................................................... 175 Fuel capacity: ........................................... 165L Max adults: .....................................................7 Approx. towing weight: ....................... 1850kg an extra bit of breeze, and if it starts raining you just close it up again. The side clears also provide added protection from the elements.

Main: Here you can see how evenly the Baysport sits on the water, and there is very little spray coming from the outboard. When the 175hp V6 4-stroke Mercury was being run at any speed you could hardly hear it. Above: With two adults up front there is still plenty of room for your family or a few more mates. The bimini with side covers will provide plenty of protection from the elements. 94

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In some boats you can tell that the console layout has not been thought out properly. However, the crew who fitted out the 640 Baysport had obviously

taken the time to work out where everything went, making it easy to see whether standing or seated. Up front the cuddy cabin comes complete with a two-person padded bed. On the sides and in the centre there is plenty of storage space that will keep your gear out of the elements. There is also a lockable waterproof hatch at the front to give you easy access to the anchor locker. While the location of the removable storage/kill tank padded seat at the rear is great if you fishing from one side of the boat, I would prefer to move it – just so that I can get easy access to the rear of the boat when I’m at anchor. This could be done by unclipping it and moving it. Even though I didn’t launch and retrieve the Baysport 640 Sports, I did notice how easy it was to launch and retrieve it off the Tandem Axle multi roller

Sealink trailer. Once it is up on the trailer, all you need to do is clip off the strap and safety chain, and away you go. The end of the trailer’s main frame is open, making it easy to flush freshwater up inside. The test boat was provided by Insinc Marine at 20 Dell Road West, Gosford. Owners Troy and Lee Durham were very obliging, and have been running Insinc Marine for over six years. Before that, Troy was selling boats for another company, so his knowledge is very extensive and his mechanics have many years of knowledge in the boating industry. If I were looking for a second boat for fishing in the estuaries or freshwater dams, heading to my favourite offshore reefs or doing some family cruising or waterskiing, this would be a rig I would look at. STANDARD FEATURES The standard features include a seven-year structural warranty, six-year engine warranty, concave planing plank, foam filled stringer system, split stainless steel bow rail, moulded bowsprit, stainless steel SARCA bow roller, rear grab handles, stainless steel recessed cleats, folding, stainless steel ladder,

navigation lights, compass, hydraulic steering, removable storage bin, passenger side pocket, transom door, underfloor 165L fuel tank, cabin side pockets, cabin bunk cushions, under bunk storage, cockpit side pockets, tinted cabin windows, seat boxes with storage, two rear rod holders, four ganged switch panel and a large front cabin hatch. DEALER FITTED OPTIONS Options include: bimini with front and side clears, six rocket launchers, SeaDek flooring, Digital Smart Craft gauges, Removable bait board, STB fibreglass pedestal, a Lowrance Elite 7 GPS combo sounder, a GME VHF radio, Port stainless steel seat frame, a marine battery, boat rego and trailer, anchor chain and rope, PFD1 lifejackets, telescopic paddle, torch, horn, flusher kit, bailer and fire extinguisher. The complete drive-away package comes in at $69,950 and is available from Insinc Marine. If you are interested in a possible test drive of this rig you should call in and ask for either Troy or Lee Durham. You can also phone (02) 4324 4300 or visit their website: www.insincmarine.com.au.

SPEED TEST RESULTS Idle: ...................................................... 900rpm 8 knots: ....................................1700rpm, 15km On the plane: .......................... 2800rpm, 32km Half speed: ............................. 3800rpm, 55km Full speed: .............................. 5600rpm, 84km

The STB fibreglass pedestal seat for the skipper had an extra storage pocket underneath. The padded passenger seat was positioned on a stainless-steel frame, and you can strap a small esky underneath it.

The removable storage seat/bin could be used as a kill tank and then easily unclipped and taken out of the boat to wash down and clean.

At the rear you have a removable bait board with two rod holders, and a transom door to give you easy access from the water after having a swim or skiing. The padded bench seat is removable, but also has plenty of storage underneath for an esky to put your fish, food and drinks in.

The fully rollered tandem axle Sea-Link trailer features alloy wheels, load share suspension, jockey wheel and bearing protectors as standard. Light truck tyres are used on all multi-roller trailers, and matching spare wheels are available as an option.

The two-person padded bed doubles as a storage locker for your vital boating and fishing needs. There is also a lockable waterproof hatch at the front to provide easy access to the anchor locker.

Depending on whether you are standing or sitting, you can adjust the padded seat on both the passenger’s and skipper’s seats with ease.

The console layout has clearly been well thought out. Everything is easy to see, whether you’re standing or seated.

The 175hp V6 Mercury’s power to weight ratio, and the way that there was continual power from at a standing position to top speed, blew me away. NOVEMBER 2018

Haines Hunter 585R with Yamaha F200 4-stroke

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Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

We hope for windy days while boat testing, but not at the speed that Port Phillip Bay dished out while testing this Haines Hunter 585R (runabout),

fitted with a Yamaha F200 by Chelsea Yamaha. As one of the rigs that Rob Neely and his team set up for their stand at the Boat Show, I was keen on testing its Port Phillip Bay abilities in some breeze. The 30+ knots and washing-machine-like conditions put a pretty rapid

halt to that. Nonetheless, we were able to get the rig out on the water and eventually find a location where we could do some economy figures. To put the hull into perspective, I asked Rob why Haines Hunters were such a popular boat. “Lots of people buy a Haines Hunter and then never buy anything else,” Rob said. “It’s a combination of comfort, stability, economy and resale value.” Indeed, Rob had plenty of Haines Hunters in the showroom when we turned up at the dealership to pick up the test boats. SPECIFICATIONS Length Overall..... 6.0m Beam.................. 2.40m Hull Weight........ 950kg Transom..................25” Fuel...................... 230L Max hp................... 200

From above you can get a good idea of the amount of room in the sub 6m craft. There’s plenty of space there to get some serious fishing done. 96

NOVEMBER 2018

By nature, the runabout design is pretty simple. Runabouts are made with less cabin space and more cockpit to offer serious anglers plenty of fishing room down the back. The 585 definitely has plenty of space, with a 2.4m beam adding to the work area. The test boat was set up for fishing, with rocketlauncher style rod holders in the targa top, a large bait station and plenty of room in the side pockets. It was also fitted with the removable side door to

Top: As tested, this is the boat that you get for $113,900 – nearly 6m of Australianbuilt Haines Hunter 585R. With custom canopy and clears from Chelsea Yamaha, it’s well decked out for snapper fishing in the bay and beyond. Above: Both the hull and trailer are Melbourne-built. The tandem, galvanised Easytow features plenty of rollers to make drive on and off launching easy – even on windy days like the test day. help in loading the boat on the trailer and getting swimmers and divers out of the water when afloat. Often the importance of a good trailer under a hull is overlooked. The Aussie-made Easytow trailers work well under these hulls and the combination of wobble and keel rollers make it a pleasure to drive on and off, even in windy conditions like on the test day. Dual axles are a must for any rig around 2000kg and this rig will tow easily behind nearly all twin-cab 4WDs.

As expected, Yamaha’s F200 delivered exceptional economy, squeezing just under 2km/L burned at 4000rpm and 39km/h. Combine this with the 230L underfloor fuel tank and there’s a theoretical range of nearly 450km on a single fill. If that’s not enough for you, you’re going to need a bigger boat. At the helm, Yamaha’s new fly-by-wire digital throttle and shift impressed. It takes a little to get used to the sensitivity and smoothness of this new system, but once you do, you’ll never want to go

back to mechanical throttle cables again. Overall, you should look at the 585R if you’re more of a fisher than a family weekend kind of person. It’s designed with plenty of room and storage for all things piscatorial. But the significant other and kids will be comfortable nonetheless if they want to tag along. Haines Hunters aren’t cheap – the test rig weighed in at $113,900, however basic packages for this hull start at around $90,000. For more information visit www.haineshunter.com.au.

The 2.4m of beam combined with a deep vee make this a stable hull that rides well in the rough.

The R in the model name means ‘runabout,’ which translates to plenty of deck space and a smaller cabin. You can see the lid to the massive underfloor kill box between the helm and passenger seats.

The helm includes the Yamaha digital throttle and shift, which is very smooth and impressive. We’d like to be able to mount larger sounders flush into the dash, though.

Lenco trim tabs help you adjust the attitude when running heavy or uneven loads. With the lightly loaded boat we didn’t need them on the test day.

There’s enough cabin room to get out of the weather and it’s no problem to fit an optional portable toilet in there to keep the family happy.

The fold-out rear lounge isn’t full width, but can hold a couple of passengers. The rear bait station slides in and out.

There’s an optional, removable gunwale door and tons of room in the side pockets. The door slides out rather than being hinged. A clear anchor well door lets in a lot of natural light to the cabin.

Rob Neely reckons that the Yamaha F200s are ‘bulletproof’. We didn’t shoot it to find out, but they are definitely economical, giving a theoretical range of around 450km.

Talk to Chelsea Yamaha about custom stainless targa and canopy/clears combinations. They have a full trim shop in-house.

Call it a kill box or a wet storage area for your snorkeling gear. Whatever your bent, it’s a handy addition to the 585. NOVEMBER 2018

Product Profile

Lowrance goes LIVE with new flagship fishfinders The new Lowrance HDS Live fishfinder/chartplotters deliver powerful realtime sonar, charting and connectivity features. Lowrance held a media day in Sydney to give the Aussie media an advanced look at the Live units – and everyone was mightily impressed. Scan the QR Code hereby to watch the full launch video – or visit the Fishing Monthly Magazine channel on YouTube. The following is Lowrance’s release about the new units’ features, and you can expect a full review in a future issue of Fishing Monthly. ACTIVE IMAGING SONAR Active Imaging displays structure and cover with a new level of refined detail, and at a range unmatched by any other structure imaging technology. Offering superb clarity without sacrificing range, it delivers unmatched image quality of structure, fish and bottom composition. Active Imaging 3-in-1 sonar combines Lowrance CHIRP with SideScan and DownScan Imaging, allowing you to quickly search fishholding structure, and enhances FishReveal with

NOVEMBER 2018

VIDEO

Scan QR code to see Steve Morgan’s ‘Launched’ video.

higher-level clarity and target separation. Active Imaging 2-in-1 sonar includes Side and DownScan Imaging, and is perfect for use with a separate traditional sonar transducer. Simple to use without the need to change frequencies while fishing in most conditions, Active Imaging 800kHz provides crystal-clear detail with uncompromised range. If you need to see further than 120ft, Active Imaging can also operate at 455kHz. Active Imaging enhancements are coming to existing StructureScan 3D modules via a free software update. LIVESIGHT SONAR Livesight sonar delivers

the most detailed views of fish as they swim in and around cover. You’ll be fishing in real-time as you watch fish react to your lure, and see how

they are relating to structure. Mount the transducer in a front-facing position to cast toward the fish, or mount it in a down-facing position to do

some vertical jigging. When using LiveSight forward in conjunction with the Lowrance Point-1 GPS antenna, an on-chart indicator shows the direction the transducer is pointed, allowing anglers to line up on a waypoint or pinpoint the structure they are trying to fish. GENESIS LIVE CHARTING Delivering real-time,

custom-mapping capabilities, HDS Live harnesses the power of Genesis Live charting, which uses digital depth to create depth-contour overlays

on charts. Users can control contour transparency, density of contours drawn on the screen up to unprecedented 30cm intervals, depth and safety shading colour palettes, and more. Charts can easily be saved to an SD card. LIVECAST SMARTPHONE INTEGRATION HDS Live lets you display fishing information and entertainment from their smartphones on their 12” and 16” sunlight viewable displays. Users can view their phone in full-screen or splitscreen windows via HDMI connection, allowing them to stream video, view Google Maps and fishing data. HDS LIVE features a low-profile design with edgeto-edge glass; a SolarMAX HD screen; bracket, flush and rear mounting options; user-programmable keys; and an optional fullyprogrammable Bluetooth remote. The available sizes are 7” ($1549), 9” ($3249), 12” ($4649) and 16” ($6299). LiveSight TDX is $1145, and Active Imaging TDX is $275. For more information or to locate an authorized dealer, visit www. lowrance.com. - FM

AUSTRALIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NUMBER ONE FISHFINDER.

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